Perception
by brickboat
Summary: [Sequel to Nightmares] Assisting another is difficult when they won't accept your help. Doubly so when they won't acknowledge their plight in the first place.


A/N: Here it is, guys: The sequel to Nightmares!

This thing is like 4 months overdue jfc, but IT'S DONE WOOHOO! (Just don't be surprised if there're a few things that seem a little weird given canon now.)

Enjoy!

* * *

One final jump, and he reached his destination.

Tokoyami stood on the 14th floor of a makeshift building. Class A was once again at USJ. This time, for a team rescue exercise.

The objective was to collect training dummies in various precarious situations. Some were in more danger than others: one could be in danger of burning while another would be trapped on a high ledge. The point of the practice was to deduce which to save first in an emergency, how to divide the available resources to do so, and to then get as many to safety as possible.

They were split into groups by drawing lots and sent in to their own section of the area to complete the task. When his group got together, Tokoyami volunteered to go to the ledges that the others weren't so easily able to access. Dark Shadow allowed him to scale vertical platforms easily, which was an ability his partners (Ashido, Aoyama, and Hagakure) lacked.

The dummy was safe – even without him there, the timer attached to it to was set to beep the exact moment the rest of the exercise ended. Damn. He should have known that it would been such – the floor was sturdy, there were no obstacles beyond the height of the floor itself, and there was nothing in the area that could possibly 'kill' the dummy (barring it losing its will to live and throwing it _self_ out of the building). The time taken to rescue it was time that could have been used to save one in more immediate danger. There could very well have been a dummy that just met a grim fate.

Regardless, it was a lesson learned. He pressed the button on the timer, and removed the dummy from it's restraints. Making these mistakes in a controlled environment would allow him to be more efficient when working professionally. It was better to lose points as a student than lives as a hero. Frustration was unneeded. It would only serve as a distraction.

He looked out the window – if it could be called that: The building's facade on this side had almost completely crumbled away, which gave him a clear view of the surrounding area: the uncovered panels allowed for chaos to be viewed under a grand serene.

Tokoyami scanned the visible area. He could see Aoyama grab a dummy at ground level near the Eastern edge of their zone (the ruins zone, incidentally), where the building Tokoyami was in stood at as well. The flood zone and central plaza were empty (being the only areas teams weren't practicing in). Most of the other zones were too far away to see any of his classmates clearly. The only exception was the landslide zone, the next section over.

He focused his gaze. Something there caught his eye in particular.

Bakugou ran along a bridge towards the top of a rock column. Drones littered the airspace surrounding him. A dummy stood at the end in plain sight. A moat of glistening mud surrounded the column, as well as the other columns lined in a row next to it, and gently flowed into a nearby chasm.

The drones moved in to attack.

They fired pellets, though not in tandem. They were not those those in standard use, or even made of rubber. They were composed of a classified polymer mixture that was designed to merely sting when they hit a living target. However, it would be unwise to underestimate them – one could be easily ignored, but pain of dozens stacked. Luckily the drones were also designed not to be 100% accurate.

" _FUCKING DRONES. GET WRECKED."_

Needless to say, Bakugou also went on the offensive.

He charged at the closest drone directly in front of him, seemingly immune to the ammunition. He grabbed its top – directly under its propellers, and pulled the lever on its underbelly. It manually shot a flurry of pellets. Bakugou aimed the nozzle at a batch of the drone's companions. They were knocked off-kilter and fell – either into rock face, or the mud below.

The ammunition spent, he threw his makeshift gun into another drone. Both crashed into a nearby cliff. Nearly three-fourths of his robotic opponents were gone. The rest took on a more defensive formation. Bakugou pumped his fist in the air.

" _YEAH! TAKE **THAT** , YOU SHITTY HUNKS OF JUNK."_

He swung his right arm in an arc, and strafed a pseudo-cluster of the remaining drones. Most of them destabilized and fell, but one was sent careening into the bridge.

It exploded. The sudden jolt reached even the planks under Bakugou's feet. He grabbed the rope with his other hand, likely to steady his balance.

It snapped.

The bridge jerked underneath him. He grabbed the frayed end of the nearest rope. It slipped out of his grasp. There was nothing else arm's length away to grip onto.

He teetered.

He tottered.

He fell.

A flurry of explosions erupted from Bakugou's palms not even a second later. They only managed to send him into a spin. He was unable to correct it; the drop was too short to stabilize his momentum in time, or even divert his course to reach the nearby patch of land at the edge of the cliff.

He plummeted into the mud below.

Had Tokoyami not witnessed the event in its entirety, he would have assumed that the following slew of explosions came from group of ill-placed landmines. Mud was sent flying in a haphazard mess. It coated the column he aimed to reach as well as the cliff the bridge ascended from.

He wasn't quite screaming. Rather, he chose to unleash a mass of crude profanity over his current situation. His shouts were muffled due to the blasts and sounds of splashing mud, though what Tokoyami _could_ hear was mostly cursing (he wasn't surprised). Bakugou's anger was apparent; he appeared barely a shade short of enraged. But there were some other emotions Tokoyami couldn't quite place in the chaos as well; though given the situation he was in, they certainly were not positive.

Peculiarly, Bakugou didn't attempt to swim to the nearby patch of land, or even regain his bearings. The remaining drones didn't move in to strike: All U.A. students were capable of swimming, but the drones were not going to risk accidentally drowning one of them.

He was in no danger, but it was as if he were fighting an invisible opponent.

As a witness, Tokoyami was unsure of what to do. It was a conundrum: Bakugou could clearly use assistance, and Tokoyami seemed to be the only one who could see the situation he was in. However, Tokoyami was a zone away, and he wasn't sure the penalty his team would incur for breaking that boundary. And he had little time to weigh his options: Even by launching himself over the barrier between zones it would take some time to reach him.

There was also the issue of Bakugou himself: Through their time at U.A. it had become readily apparent that providing aid he didn't require or ask for would incur his wrath. It wasn't something to be truly fearful of – he was adept at following the school rules (barring a few certain incidents), but it wasn't exactly pleasant either. The only exception would be if a fight broke out due to his bellicose nature. Tokoyami wasn't averse to the idea of sparring with an eager partner, but there was a time an appropriate time and place for such a match and this was not it.

But if he _was_ truly panicking – as unlikely as it was, Tokoyami definitely needed to go there. And fast. The risk of Bakugou's anger could never compare to him potentially drowning. Even if the drones decided it was time to help, they were no substitute for an actual hero (even if that hero was still in training).

As he mulled over his options, he noticed Asui arrive at the scene.

She must have heard his shouts, or at least become concerned when he didn't respond on his transceiver. It was a habit of hers to check in occasionally when her team split up during group missions, and one that Tokoyami appreciated – communication was imperative as a hero; and making sure others were safe even more so.

The drones took notice of her as well and moved in, no longer paying any attention to Bakugou. Asui's tongue shot out and wrapped around one as she ran onto the bridge. She quickly smashed the remaining others by using it as a bludgeon.

She tossed her impromptu weapon over her shoulder and peered down below, clutching onto the unsnapped rope.

Tokoyami wasn't sure if Asui called down to inquire Bakugou's status (what, with the cacophony down below), but regardless she sent her tongue down to meet him. In one fluid motion, she wrapped it around his torso and yanked him up. It was impressive how easy she made it look, especially from _that_ distance.

Bakugou landed on top of the rock column next to the dummy. Unfortunately, Asui relied on mostly momentum, so she couldn't gently place him just yet. He instead hit the plateau with a thud.

Bakugou fell silent and pushed himself into a sitting position. He was oddly still for a moment's time, but quickly returned to his normal animated state. Wiping his hands on the platform seemed to get some of the mud off, but did nothing about the fact that the rest of him was absolutely slathered in it. He turned to face at Asui, who was making her way across the bridge, and yelled (though he wasn't as loud as he was earlier).

" _For **fuck's sake** , Frog Legs; I **had** that!"_

" _Sure you did."_ She was unphased. _"Let's go."_ Asui wasn't one to waste time; she reached the end of the bridge and took care of the dummy. _"I think Kouda-chan and Kaminari-chan are almost done with the ground level dummies. We need to get the ones higher up."_ She chose not to mention the state of his costume or what he was doing when she rescued him – a move Tokoyami agreed with. It was best not to start an argument when the dummy had not even been taken to a checkpoint yet.

" _Ugh."_ Tokoyami was unsure if that groan from Bakugou was because of Asui's words or just her method of retrieving him. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with him, as he stood up just fine without any visible injuries (beyond a few scrapes, most of which he likely acquired from being thrown).

He ran ahead, probably to find one of those dummies out of reach for his other teammates. Asui brought up the rear, carrying the dummy. She would likely do the same thing as Bakugou after she dropped it off.

They were both fine and none-the-worse for wear. A potential crisis had been averted, and Tokoyami himself almost wanted to give a sigh of relief to the whole situation.

" _Hey Tokoyaaamiiiii~! You there?"_ Ashido caught his attention as she made contact through the transceivers. He pressed a finger to his ear.

"Present."

" _So quick question: Where you at?"_

"On the 14th floor of a building at the Northern barrier." He looked down at his phone. Damn. He spent so much time watching the other zone that he was definitely going to lose points for making an inadequate number of rescues.

" _'Kaaaay. I'm at the Northwest corner and there's a big load a' dummies up high_ _ **and**_ _they don't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon. Can you swing by when you're done over there?"_ Speak of the devil. Ashido's singsong timbre said she found many within her reach as well. Each zone had the same number of dummies and they could often be spaced out, but it was a treat to find larger clusters. Hopefully this cache would make up for some of the one ones he lost from squandering valuable time. And _hopefully_ their timers wouldn't run out before he got there.

" _Hey hey! Any down below for the rest of us?"_ The sudden appearance of Hagakure's voice was a slight surprise, though it shouldn't have been. Teams had only one channel each to prevent miscommunication and cross talk.

" _Already taken care of,_ _amigo._ _"_ If there was a way to transfer a sly wink through sound, Ashido would have done it. But her tone carried that image all the same.

" _Booooo! I haven't had **any** luck finding them today!"_

" _None of us have gone to the Southwest corner yet, yes?"_ Aoyama's addition made for a complete team correspondence. _"Shall we be off, Mademoiselle?"_

" _Yeah! Race you to the edge!"_

" _I accept! Last one there is an oeuf pourri!"_

" _So what about you, Tokoyami?"_ Now that Aoyama and Hagakure were off apparently having an impromptu contest, Ashido saw it time to get an answer. And Tokoyami had one:

"Time and tide wait for no man."

He grabbed the dummy beside him and descended the building. Even with no one there, he couldn't mope over lost time. There was no use in doing so. Especially since precious seconds had also been wasted on his teammates' banter.

He dashed the moment he landed on one of the fallen buildings. He unceremoniously tossed the dummy at the first checkpoint he passed. It was going to be close, but he could make it – he only had to keep up his top speed. He had to be ready the moment he arrived at the scene. He had to focus.

But for some reason, the incident prior couldn't help but stick in his mind.

* * *

The class ended with a tally of the rescued.

While not strictly a competition, Uraraka's team _did_ collect the largest number of dummies. They received a small round of applause from everyone else for doing so. Tokoyami managed to rescue an acceptable amount thanks to Ashido's assistance, so he wasn't critiqued as harshly as expected (in fact, Aoyama and Hagakure were the members of his team focused on – that final corner was sparsely populated, so they retrieved fewer dummies than he did).

A genial atmosphere permeated the monitor room as they watched the day's highlights, Aizawa-sensei commenting on them accordingly:

Sero created a net of tape and tossed dummies in before bringing them all in at once ("It's creative and saves time, but real people won't appreciate being thrown around like rag dolls"). Yaoyorozu gave a broken-down truck a new engine and used it to cart her and her teammates' dummies around between checkpoints ("That was good use of the resources available to you. I won't say anything about the legality of it since this is a controlled environment, but be aware of the consequences of trying that in the real world."). Kaminari used a dummy as a sled to get to the bottom of a hill ("...You know what you did wrong.").

And then there was Bakugou. He was still covered in mud by the time the exercise ended; he would only get the chance to shower when the review ended. Thankfully it had all dried, but in return it crumbled off with every small movement. Currently there was a small ring of dirt around him. The others found it hilarious, much to his chagrin.

"Alright, so Bakugou." Aizawa-sensei sighed as he scratched his scalp. "You let yourself get careless."

The scene Tokoyami witnessed was played on the screen, but from a different angle than he had watched it from. Bakugou destroyed most of the drones, lost his balance as the bridge cable snapped, then fell off-camera into the mud below, and Aizawa-sensei paused the video with the resulting splash in-frame. Tokoyami had an inkling as to why it wasn't played any further.

"Drones aren't hard to beat, but keep an eye out for your surroundings. Even a seemingly sturdy environment isn't always static."

"Tch." Bakugou's glower would have likely been deeper had it been possible. He crossed his arms. His eyes were turned to the floor. No one payed him any mind. Any condolences his peers gave each other were reserved for when they were released from the monitor room.

"And for you, Asui..." Aizawa-sensei continued on to give the rest of the class their critiques without missing a beat. A few more amusing reels. A few more criticisms over recklessness and unprofessional behavior. Nothing life-threatening or deserving of more than a few sentences from their teacher. The minutes ticked by. Eventually everyone had been reviewed. There was nothing more to say. There was nothing more to do.

So with that, class was dismissed.

* * *

As fate would have it, Tokoyami and Bakugou were seated next to one another on the bus ride back to the main campus.

Bakugou was the last to get on, having showered to clean the mud off his costume before it was time for the bus to leave. USJ had a facility specially designed to wash and dry the person(s) inside in a matter of minutes. It was handy given the number of obstacles and environmental hazards that could leave one's costume filthy. They weren't supposed to track large amounts of debris on the bus or U.A. campus itself, after all.

Apparently the mechanism had missed a few spots. There was still some dirt crusted on him – particularly on the crevices of the costume and under his ears. Thankfully their costumes were cleaned after every exercise of this sort; Tokoyami himself had some particularly resilient dust and rubble clinging to his cloak.

Tokoyami was the only one without someone sitting next to him. The reason was no more out of the ordinary than the rest of the class choosing each other as seatmates. Thus, the two of them were seated together.

"Potato!"

"Opossum!"

Ashido and Hagakure played shiritori a seat ahead of them. The rest of the class carried on their own conversations, with a few exceptions. Tokoyami wasn't one for small-talk, nor his quieter peers. He instead watched the trees pass. The branches were hypnotizing, but he could not find himself in more than a light daze. It was a tad disappointing – daytime naps were a treat when he could find the time.

He looked to his seat neighbor.

Bakugou's eyes were closed, but he was not asleep either. He wore a dour scowl when he boarded, one that was easy to mistake for sulking. Uraraka's team saved the most dummies with little-to-no damage, and everyone knew Bakugou hated losing; it wouldn't be hard to make the assumption that he was just moody because of it.

No one tried to converse with him. Kirishima had tried a moment after they were released from the monitor room; but though Tokoyami couldn't discern what they said, he could tell nothing meaningful came from it. And since Kirishima was Bakugou's best friend (or the closest thing he had to one in their class), anyone else who may have noticed something was off knew not to add in their piece after him..

And now that Bakugou was 'asleep', there was next to no chance that any of their peers would attempt to speak with him. Everyone in Class A had been thoroughly exhausted after a practical exercise at least once that semester, and used the ride back to the main campus as a welcome break to take a nap. It was an unwritten rule not to disturb them unless necessary.

But Bakugou _wasn't_ asleep. His eyes were squeezed shut. His posture was rigid, along with his frown. The rhythm in his breathing lacked a pause between when he inhaled and exhaled. They were all the initial observations Tokoyami could make without physical contact.

He weighed his options: He could question Bakugou himself (and risk facing his wrath), or he ignore the elephant in the room and pretend he didn't see anything. The latter was the simpler choice – few things were as easy as doing nothing at all.

But... it felt _disingenuous_ to leave him like that. Tokoyami remembered what they talked about before at the lodge. He knew what happened earlier. Something was clearly troubling Bakugou, and keeping it bottled up with an airtight seal would only make it fester like an open sore.

It would also be some time before Tokoyami had another chance to ask him in private. Despite the fact that neither of them went out of their way to be social, they were rarely alone at school – a small number of their peers were almost always nearby.

The layout of the bus allowed for no one but the pair sitting on the other side of the aisle to have a clear view of them. Iida was gazing out the window. Mineta was on his phone. Neither of them were likely to notice and listen in, especially among all the other ambient conversations.

They passed the street lamp Tokoyami used as a marker for 'about half way between the facility and the main campus'. If he kept waiting, he would lose the opportunity. It was now or never. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

So he began:

"Bakugou?"

No response.

"May I ask a question?" Tokoyami kept his voice soft enough to ensure that he that no one _but_ Bakugou could hear him. Perhaps they could if they were paying attention, but the seats in front of and behind him were engaged in their own games and conversation, so it wasn't likely.

"The fuck do _you_ want." He grumbled, but he didn't sound groggy. Tokoyami could assume he was correct and did not unintentionally rouse him.

"To ask if you're alright."

Bakugou snorted. "Who wants to know."

"Only I. I'm merely wondering how you're faring after that plunge."

"So I got covered in mud. Big whoop. Like everyone else hasn't gotten dirty at some point."

"That's good to hear; but not what I meant to inquire about, unfortunately."

"...Then what _did_ you mean." Bakugou's voice carried an unnecessarily accusatory tone.

"The incident itself."

"What the _fuck_?" Bakugou's eyes shot open and immediately twisted into a glare. "Were you _watching_ me or something?" There was an implicit warning in his tone for Tokoyami to choose his words carefully. Tokoyami wasn't sure how one _could_ breach the subject more gently.

"I was in a building near the edge of the ruins zone; so I witnessed it, yes."

"And _now_ you just want to rub it in my face. Go to hell, you shittyass crow." It was a testament to Bakugou's growth over the course of the school year that he kept his snarl down to a dull roar. But his assumption was incorrect: Schadenfreude was not a feeling Tokoyami enjoyed, especially at the expense of a peer.

"That is not my intention"

"I don't care. Shut the fuck up."

"I may have raised your hackles, but I _am_ concerned for your well-being."

"Fuck off. I don't need your pity."

"But Bakugou-"

Bakugou jumped out of his seat.

"For _fuck's sake_ , Birdbrain: _I DON'T_ _ **CARE**_."

That slight press was the straw that broke the camel's back. One hand held the seat in front for support while the other lay at his side, clenched into a fist. His eyes held venom. His stance was that of someone ready to start a physical confrontation. Tokoyami met the glare with a stern look of his own, but didn't leave his sitting position.

The rest of the bus fell silent.

They were at a standstill. Tokoyami had nothing to say now that their classmates were listening. Bakugou evidently didn't either. If he had to venture a guess as to _why_ the latter was mum, it would be that Bakugou assumed that furthering the conversation would cause Tokoyami to report what he witnessed – or worse yet: what they talked about back at the training camp. Tokoyami knew better, but there wasn't anything he could do in the current situation to assuage that apprehension.

All he could do was wait for Bakugou to make the first move, if any.

…

...

. . .

"There it is!"

Kaminari shouted from a few seats down. Everyone else laughed, and the atmosphere returned to its original state in an instant. It was plainly obvious that none of their classmates had been listening in on their conversation (well- Tokoyami's attempt at one, at least), though it certainly gained their attention after Bakugou's yell.

Ashido peeked over the back of her seat.

"Hey Bakugou! Wanna start the next round?"

Bakugou looked at her. He blinked, his expression conveying annoyance with a touch of confusion.

"Piss off." His voice was reduced to a grumble. The moment of tense agitation subsided as quickly as it had been triggered. He sat back in his seat and folded his arms, closing his eyes and returning to the same position he was in just minutes ago.

"Flamingo!" Ashido continued the game unperturbed. Everyone in Class A had long since been accustomed to Bakugou's foul mouth and crass attitude. It wasn't out of character for him to be irascible and rude for no reason. They might have teased him if it was about something funny or petty, but the lack of context gave them no material to do so with.

Ashido sat her chin on her then-folded forearms and beamed at now-visible classmates.

"Office!" Sero accepted her implicit invitation to join in.

"Ectoplasm!" Kaminari did as well, but from the other end of the bus.

The rest of the ride back was filled with idle chatter and a string of shiritori volleys from random classmates. Bakugou gave off an aura of irritation that contrasted with the rest of the bus's ambiance, but sat silent. Tokoyami scrolled through his phone, though paid little attention to what was on the screen. Neither of them said anything. Tokoyami chose to wander within his own thoughts instead.

What little semblance of a plan he had had was terribly myopic in execution. Asking Bakugou directly had only made him snap – it was foolish to try and help right after an incident occurred.

But making no effort meant there was no chance anything positive could have happened. He took a chance and failed; nothing more.

Tokoyami obviously didn't expect Bakugou to readily voice his struggles; but even saying "It's a fucking load of horse shit who cares" or something else similarly 'Bakugou' would have succeeded in at least a _minute_ amount of alleviation. Instead he bottled up any and all reaction beyond mere annoyance at his _classmates'_ reactions. Tokoyami knew those symptoms, and he knew it was not a healthy way to manage them.

But there was little else he could do at the moment: Attempting to interact with Bakugou once again would only lead to a repeat of what just happened, with with the added touch of concern from other classmates. They were lucky no one thought to ask anything; best not to push it.

So he let it rest for the time being.

* * *

"Hey um... Is everything okay?"

Tokoyami blinked, then looked to his right. Kouda took a bite out of his sandwich; his gaze was fixed straight ahead. They were at lunch in the U.A. cafeteria. They sat side-by-side at a table close to the door.

Kouda's voice was unmistakable (if barely audible), but it was rare for him to start a conversation so bluntly. The two of them would normally eat their lunch in relative silence when they sat next to one another, with occasional small talk (often centered around the campus fauna) or questions about schoolwork. Neither of them were the talkative type, which contrasted with how chatty most of their classmates were.

"I would like to think so." Tokoyami felt his own demeanor hadn't changed, even after U.A. had been attacked by villains. But he was well aware that a vision of one's self was not necessarily what others saw. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm not sure. Some of them just seems a little... _off_."

"The animals?" Tokoyami hadn't noticed anything different about them.

"Our class."

Ah, so that's what Kouda meant. Traces of concern littered his face, but the lack of clear suggestions implied he hadn't settled on any one particular possibility.

"Have they done anything worthy of concern?"

"Umm... Maybe?" He scratched his head. The sound of stone against stone was not pleasing to the ears. "I dunno.."

Tokoyami had noticed over the course of the school year that Kouda possessed a particularly fine-tuned sense of empathy, which Tokoyami could only assume was a byproduct of his quirk. However, he had trouble pinpointing the exact causes of his observations, and his lack of self-confidence led him to constantly second-guess himself (though he vocalized that worry less as the months passed); but the hunches he _did_ share were eerily accurate.

"I suppose it has something to do with our experiences over the summer break."

"It's been this way since we got back, so I guess so?"

"Would you happen to have any particular examples?"

"Well um... Jirou-chan and Kaminari-kun seem like they're mad at each other, I think..." That was another observation that Tokoyami hadn't picked up on. As far has Tokoyami could tell, they were as friendly as ever. Though now that he thought about it, Kaminari _did_ seem particularly absentminded as of late.

"Aoyama-kun's been talking less. And Iida-kun's been watching everyone a lot more..." Kouda took another bite of his sandwich, and lazily held out fingers as he listed them, as if he were counting them.

"That _does_ seem to be the case." He nodded. Aoyama interjected into far fewer conversations than he had before, though his facade was flashy as always. Iida made it abundantly clear that everyone needed to notify him if they were to leave the campus for any reason that did not pertain to school.

"What about you?"

Tokoyami blinked.

"Pardon?"

"You've noticed something too, right?" Right. Kouda's stellar intuition applied to him as well.

"...I'm not at liberty to say." It was unfortunate that Tokoyami did not recognize changes in behavior as readily as Kouda. Perhaps then he might have had an easily-retrievable observation of his own beyond his main concern. But there was no sense in attempting to lie and convince Kouda that he was oblivious. Even he could tell it wouldn't work.

"I told you mine!" Though Kouda said that, Tokoyami was sure _he_ had plenty more observations he didn't mention.

"Some things are better left unsaid." Kouda was unaware of what truly transpired during that attack. He was also unaware of what Tokoyami had discussed the night _prior_ to that incident. It wouldn't be fair to drag him into something he could do nothing about, especially given how empathetic he was.

"It isn't about the villains, is it? I don't want us to get attacked again!" Kouda fretted as he made that strangely erroneous assumption. He was needlessly riling himself up. They were in dorms now. The ringleader of the villains that attacked them was in a maximum-security prison. It was unlikely that there would be another attack on them soon, if at all.

"Please calm yourself, Kouda." For someone normally so reserved, Kouda could be very animated when he so desired. "That is not what it is."

"So... what is it?"

"...I can assure you that it does not involve one of our previous adversaries."

Kouda looked down at Tokoyami's arm.

"Do you know, what it is Dark Shadow?"

" **Please leave me out of this."** Dark Shadow peeked out from Tokoyami's cuff, than slithered back as quickly as it came. Tokoyami was thankful that it was high noon. Otherwise Dark Shadow may have told him something.

"I beseech you to tell me, so that I may better understand the situation that has unfolded!"

"...I am not an animal, Kouda." Though he had the head of one. He ignored the slight push that command had on him. Shut up, Kouda.

Why was he being so persistent, anyway? It was quite unlike him.

"What're you guys talking about?"

Kouda jumped as Asui seemed to apparate behind them. It took some effort for Tokoyami to not do the same. Her interjection was a surprise, to say the least.

She sat down on the other chair next to Tokoyami, a small bag in hand.

"Oh um-! Nothing! Nothing at all!" Kouda waved his hands frantically, though it only made clear that mendacity was not his forte.

Asui looked at him, then at Tokoyami, then back at him. She didn't break her gaze as she took a small bento box out of her bag.

"Oh, that's it?"

Kouda blinked.

"Huh?"

Asui took the lid off the box. The contents were homemade, contrary to those of the lunches most everyone else that attended U.A. ate. The meal looked more appetizing as well, if he were to speak honestly (not to say that Lunch Rush's meals weren't appealing to the eye and delicious as well; but there was a certain charm to a homemade bento). Tokoyami would often see her prepare those meals when he arose in the morning. Apparently she used to make them for herself and her siblings when she lived with her parents, and it was a habit she did not want to give up. Tokoyami respected that. Though had they been close enough, he might have even asked her for one as well

Asui looked at him.

"It's best not to worry."

Kouda looked at Asui, then Tokoyami, then back at Asui.

"You know what it is, Tsuyu-chan?"

"Yep." She split a pair of disposable chopsticks.

"B-but why her and not me?" Kouda's eyes betrayed hurt feelings. Tokoyami felt a small pang of guilt.

"I didn't tell her." Tokoyami hoped Kouda could tell he wasn't lying.

"Then how does she know?" A good question. Tokoyami didn't know the answer either. Though if he were to venture a guess, it would be that she had listened in on their conversation for a small while before adding a question of her own.

Asui interrupted before he could reply.

"I figured it out. But it's nothing you need to worry about, Kouda-chan." She maneuvered a small octopus-shaped hot dog into her mouth.

"What? How? What is it?"

Asui swallowed the tidbit of food.

"It's personal – not for me, but it's probably not something we should be talking about."

"Oh- I'm sorry..." Kouda began to fidget with his fingers, and turned his gaze directly to the table. Tokoyami probably should have said that from the beginning. He'd have to make a note to do so in the future if he ever got into that sort of conversation again.

"It's fine. Let's talk about something else." Asui took a bite of one of her vegetables. "How's your rabbit doing?"

* * *

The day's hero exercise was a class-wide sparring match.

Class A was divided in half and pitted against one another. The objective was to capture all the members of the opposing team: It could be done by using specially-designed handcuffs, immobilizing them in some way, or by knocking them off the tiled ring in a manner reminiscent of older martial arts cartoons. Cementoss would also occasionally change the terrain to test reflexes and the ability to adapt to a situation. It would end when either all the members of one team were unable to fight or the time limit ran out.

The purpose of the exercise was to facilitate impromptu teamwork. With such a large number of participants on either side, one would have to be constantly on watch for opponents while aiding teammates to prevent them from being overwhelmed. Being able to work together with unexpected allies and effectively employ unfamiliar quirks was an important skill to have as a hero.

No time was wasted as the whistle blew. Both teams ran at one another towards the person directly in front of them, as if it were a one-on-one match. Quirks that could be used on multiple opponents were used without delay: Todoroki encased Ojiro and Shouji in ice, while Iida jumped out of the way just in time. Sero wrapped tape around Hagakure and Kirishima; the former was tossed out of bounds while the latter quickly used his quirk to cut through it. Yaoyorozu spawned a net, and bagged Sero and Mineta (Sero was distracted using his quirk, while Mineta merely thought he could get away). Within a minute, one-fifth of the class had already been removed from combat entirely. It looked to be a fairly quick exercise.

Tokoyami's opponent was Uraraka in the meantime. He knew better than to get into close-range combat with her – she had been quite skilled at it since she returned from her internship. He instead sent Dark Shadow to do battle. No one else had noticed him quite yet, so he knew he could put his entire focus onto the opponent ahead for the time being.

Dark Shadow lunged.

Uraraka sidestepped.

She made a move of her own.

Tokoyami and Dark Shadow were rendered floating with a single slap.

"Gonna have to do better than that, Tokoyami-kun!" Her brash confidence contrasted with her normally cheery demeanor, though it wasn't new and certainly wasn't unwarranted: She showed how competitive she could be over the course of the school year, and that her taunts were anything but empty.

"So it seems." He retracted Dark Shadow before she could grab a hold of it, and just soon enough to avoid being crashed into by Aoyama (who seemed to have been thrown from the far end of the arena).

The first move was key to knock Uraraka out of the ring before she could use her quirk, and he had failed. Any more attempts would likely get him tossed out of bounds, and any success grabs would only move him instead of his opponent.

For the time being, he would have to hold back, anchor himself using Dark Shadow, and wait for her quirk to be dispelled. He only hoped that Dark Shadow could multitask well-enough to both grip the concrete and fend off any attackers. As much as he preferred not to admit it, his hand-to-hand combat skills were still lacking on their own.

The terrain changed as if on cue. A massif rose between him and Uraraka, extending from the edge to his left to the center of the arena. A few small plateaus rose from the concrete as well. He could no longer see her, so it had to be the same for her as well. She was likely to find a new opponent in her newly-established section. He would have to find one as well.

The thought barely made its way through his head before he hit the ground with an unceremonious thud.

Ow.

He pushed himself up and brushed the dust off his cloak. Uraraka must have come to the same conclusion given that her quirk was no longer in effect. The sound of cement being smashed into rubble on the other side of the newly-formed wall all but confirmed it. He looked to his left. Midoriya was in a fighting stance, about to do battle with Yaoyorozu.

"Hey Tokoyami! Think fast!"

Tokoyami had mere seconds to evade a charge from Satou, but today he was not going to do so. Rather than jump in any specific direction, he instead cloaked himself in Dark Shadow and stood his ground. Satou was a foe who relied mostly on his brawn – a good opponent to gauge his own fortitude on.

He caught Satou's fist in his palm, and then the other in his other. Dark Shadow held his stance firm through the impact. A still image of that instant would likely have given the impression that they were fighting at equal strength, and that they were in a kind of deadlock. As if it were a contest of power where either could win.

But the reality couldn't be any more different. Though he could hold his form rigid, he was pushed back with what felt like little effort on Satou's part. In but a split second, Satou grabbed Tokoyami's wrist (tenebrous shadow and all). Tokoyami did his best to make Dark Shadow anchor them into the concrete.

However, another battle mere meters away from his own caught his attention: Ashido was doing battle against Bakugou. Both of them had minor bruises, but Ashido had fallen to the ground.

Bakugou looked ready to land a knockout blow. He lunged.

Though the situation was clearly not in her favor, Ashido donned the grin of a pixie.

"Try _this_ on for size!"

A torrent of viscous liquid left her palms. She was close enough that dodging was impossible. The fluid hit Bakugou full force. He was pushed back and covered head-to-toe. His movements were rendered sluggish. Ashido's plan had been executed successfully: If Tokoyami's assumption was correct, it would take but one more blow to push him out of the arena entirely.

But his focus snapped back to his own predicament as Satou ripped Dark Shadow's claws out of the tiles and lobbed him high into the air. It would not do to stay distracted by a match that was not his own. Satou obviously intended for him to land outside the ring, but that wasn't in the cards as far as Tokoyami was concerned.

It was fortunate that Dark Shadow could extend, though doing so left his arm unprotected. It grabbed the edge of the arena and began to reel him back to solid ground. But Satou was there waiting for him, arm drawn back in expectation. He would have to hope the next hit would not be rebuffed.

But before he could conjure a quick plan to defend himself with, a salvo of explosions hardened, cracked and burst through Bakugou's makeshift liquid prison. A few hardened fragments pelted both Satou and Tokoyami, but thankfully bounced off with no ill effect (though a few may or may not have gotten stuck in Tokoyami's hair). Satou took no notice, so far as not to even glance at them.

The explosions propelled Bakugou forward. Manic fury stretched across his face. Unhardened liquid dripped off behind him. His feet touched the ground.

He leapt.

He put a hand to the gauntlet on his other wrist.

He pointed it at Ashido.

Time slowed a crawl.

Ashido's reflexes were among the quickest in their class; her hands were instantly in front of her. That playfully cocky expression she wore before flashed to one of primal fear. She had to have sensed the same bloodlust Tokoyami did. A deluge of acid unlike that witnessed previously erupted from her palms, chemical vapor steaming off it.

Tokoyami's blood ran cold.

Acid would melt.

Explosions would destroy.

Pitting one against the other would not cancel their effects.

Serious injury would be the best outcome.

Far worse was much more likely.

That couldn't happen.

That _wouldn't_ happen.

He was going to stop them.

He _had_ to stop them.

He had to stop them.

He had to stop them.

He had to stop them.

He had to-

Dark Shadow left its commands in a rush of instinct. It sped to the two aforementioned combatants. An extended arm wrapped around Bakugou as he pulled the grenade pin. It's back expanded to stand between the acid and its target.

The grenade blast was diverted a meter to Ashido's right. It bored a crater into the tile next to her.

The acid spray hit Dark Shadow full force. None of it reached Bakugou.

Satou's fist hit Tokoyami square in the abdomen. He flew into the wall outside the ring.

Dark Shadow hissed. Tokoyami was ready to vomit.

Tokoyami's sense of touch only minutely extended to Dark Shadow itself. There was generally a sense of location and impact, but the weight of it was merely a registered sensation; Dark Shadow didn't bruise. Cutting and slicing of phantom mass stung, but in a detached manner that was more than manageable. Fire and explosions burned, but the repulsion in conjunction with it staved off most of the discomfort. The ease of dissociation allowed Tokoyami to send his quirk out with no hesitation. He assumed that no blow to his quirk would ever register as more than a cat scratch.

But at that moment, it was as if Dark Shadow was engulfed in fire.

The acid burned like flames without a glow. It ran down Dark Shadow's back and dripped to the floor. Bakugou thrashed, explosions bursting through the lower half of its grasp. It took all of Tokoyami's focus for Dark Shadow to hold Bakugou firm at the elbows.

Dark Shadow pulsed and shuddered. Possible outcomes raced and jumbled through Tokoyami's mind a mile a minute. A feeling he could only assume was perturbation ricocheted and tore through his innards, threatening to boil over at a moment's notice.

This makeshift mediation would last mere seconds at most. Dark Shadow would be forced to retreat by Bakugou's explosions. Ashido's attack could last another second or ten before she'd realize what she was doing. Bakugou's rampage could end right then or he could become more determined to end his opponent. There was no way to accurately predict what they would do next. All Tokoyami had was intuition and instinct to guide him.

But intuition and instinct weren't enough to keep that wall up. Acid ate through Dark Shadow on one side. The illumination from those detonations attempted to repel it on the other. It had to hold itself rigid – it would dissolve the moment it tried to move Bakugou out of the way.

Tokoyami began to peel off the wall. His physical being was weak. It was slow. It was too far away to do anything of value. It could do nothing in this situation. Dark Shadow was the only part of him that could do anything. It was the only part of him that _was_ doing anything.

Why did _he_ have to be so _useless_.

Time flowed in slow motion. Satou's attention turned to the battle. He began to run towards it.

But he reacted too late. He wouldn't reach them in time if Ashido didn't didn't stop her acid spray.

But if she did, he might be able to get in between them and put a stop to their fight.

But relying on such an uncertain gambit was too great a risk.

Satou was strong and reliable. His physical strength was among the best in their class.

But that brawn was all he had to protect himself with: Acid would eat through his flesh like maggots. Unencumbered blasts would leave grievous burns. He was ill-suited to take those blows, having nothing to shield himself with.

There had to be a more assured course of action that could be taken.

Something that would be effective.

Something that would cause no harm.

Something that would _stop_ them.

 _ **Something**_ that would-

.

 _._

 _ **.**_

It was at that moment that the sting of their attacks vanished.

The acid ceased.

The explosions ended.

Dark Shadow dissipated.

And mere seconds masquerading as minutes passed like clockwork once more.

No more blasts left Bakugou's hands before he hit the ground. No more acid left Ashido's before they fell to her sides. The acid that hit Dark shadow splattered on the ground between them. Tokoyami landed arms-first on the dirt ring outside the arena. The cement landscape returned to a level plane of flat tiles.

It was over.

"That's enough."

Aizawa-sensei's quirk was activated. All eyes were on him. Tokoyami rose to his feet, but stood still with the rest of his classmates. Ashido propped herself up onto her elbows. Bakugou sat up, stifling heaving breaths within seconds.

"Ashido, Bakugou, you two're out. Go wait in the monitor room." Aizawa-sensei pointed his thumb back to the double doors behind him. Going through would lead to a hallway, and the monitor room would be on their right. It was not hard to reach, but those words their teacher spoke carried a certain air of admonishment to elicit a feeling of shame from its recipients..

"But Aizawa-sensei-" Ashido began to protest.

Aizawa-sensei cut her off immediately.

"No buts, Ashido. The acid you made is eating through the floor," He motioned to the tiles in front of her, "And Bakugou seems to think people are made of concrete." He motioned to the tiles on her right. The crater ran deep with a scorched ring and cracks branching out of it.

" _Jeez_ , Bakugou, what the _hey_!" Ashido shook her fists in front of her and looked to her assailant. "Don't try and turn me into a block of Swiss cheese!"

"Tch." Bakugou rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "Not _my_ fault you can't take me at my best."

"That doesn't mean you have to go all _Terminator_ on me!" Ashido pouted, folding her arms in turn. Neither of them seemed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.

"He's not entirely at fault, Ashido." Ashido flinched. Aizawa-sensei paid no notice. "Had anything or any _one_ been there instead of Tokoyami's quirk when you shot that acid, the results would have been _very_ different."

" **I have a name you know-!"** Dark Shadow reemerged from Tokoyami's shadow as soon as Aizawa-sensei ceased using his quirk. Tokoyami clamped a hand over its beak before it could say anything else. Thankfully no one seemed to have heard it.

"Silence yourself, Dark Shadow," Tokoyami sent his quirk back into his shadow and dusted his cloak, though some dirt remained clearly visible. It's what he got for choosing such a dark color palette. Though he couldn't say he was happy about it.

After a few more words that Tokoyami didn't hear, Ashido and Bakugou were dismissed. They jumped off the arena onto the packed dirt below.

"Alright, everyone. Time out's over." And with that, Aizawa-sensei recommenced the exercise.

The game resumed as quickly as it had been paused. There would be a minute for everyone to regain their bearings before the landscape shifted. Some of their remaining peers were scouting to see where everyone was, while others dove straight into the action. It was as if the mortal danger present mere minutes ago was never there.

Ashido's face conveyed a delicate mixture of disappointment and confusion, though she seemed to be in a good mental state otherwise. No irreparable injuries were made. Nothing that required her or Bakugou to visit Recovery Girl either (though a visit couldn't hurt). Even when their class had been attacked, she was never one of the students that got into real danger. It was likely that she wrote her reaction off as acting before thinking and nothing more.

Bakugou on the other hand emanated an aura of irritation. He was likely angry about the lack of closure in the battle – Ashido managed to capture him, and he wasn't able to return the favor. Whatever fury caused him to act out was stuffed back from whence it came. He wouldn't be able to take out that pent-up frustration on anyone else until the next combat exercise. And to top it off, there was the shame of being removed from battle by a teacher's order, rather than being defeated. It was perfectly understandable that he'd be in a bad mood.

Tokoyami himself couldn't help but feel at fault: If he had been able to move Bakugou or Ashido out of the way, they would have been able to stay in the ring awhile longer. But instead he was only able to take the brunt of their attacks and attempt to stave off the inevitable. The aches and pains littering his body were a small price to pay for their well-being; and a lesson in just how much more he needed to improve. He would do well to learn from it.

"Even monkeys fall from trees."

It was a conciliatory gesture towards his classmates. No one wanted to be removed from an exercise in that manner. Bakugou and Ashido were among the most skilled in class when it came to combat. But anyone could make ill-advised judgements. It was an unfortunate reality of their mortal plain.

" _YOU WANNA GO, BIRDBRAIN?!_ " Clearly it didn't have its intended effect. Bakugou raised a fist at him.

"Bakugou." Aizawa-sensei wasn't having any of it.

"Ugh." Bakugou lowered his hand and turned. "Yeah yeah. I got it."

Bakugou stormed off to the monitor towards the monitor room, hands roughly shoved in his pockets. Ashido followed him, but kept watching the action until she left the room as well.

Tokoyami was about to do the same before words from Satou caught his attention.

"Hey man, you okay?" Satou must have felt a sense of responsibility for knocking Tokoyami out of the ring while he was distracted. It was quite alright; Tokoyami felt no resentment. There would be plenty more chances to fight in the future, and his actions during the incident weren't ones that would incite blame and ill-will on Tokoyami's part.

"There's no use in crying over spilled milk." Tokoyami _was_ a touch disappointed that he was unable to continue, but there would be other chances to do so. He looked to the area with a combatant closest to Satou; Cementoss resetting the arena removed the cliff obstructing his view to it. "Though it would behoove you to strike while the iron is hot."

If Tokoyami was correct in his assumption, Iida had just used his signature technique to grab Todoroki and throw him out of the arena – a testament to his growth since the athletic tournament. And by using that technique, he would need a short amount of time to recover. Iida had done well to extricate their team from one of the top fighters in Class A.

"Uh... Sure, dude. Whatever you say." Satou didn't follow his line of sight, and seemed confused at his response. Perhaps that was for the best; generally it was inadvisable to provide hints to the enemy, whether in exercises or on the field.

"Good luck."

Tokoyami left to pass through those double doors himself.

* * *

He was met with praise as he entered the monitor room.

The others had seen what happened, and at multiple angles. He was peppered with questions about the incident, and what he was thinking while 'saving Bakugou' (the fact that _that's_ what they assumed it was was disconcerting, to say the least; but he held his tongue, lest he bring more unwanted attention to the issue). There were also a curious few that wondered how he was faring after that onslaught.

Tokoyami's answers boiled down to his merely acting without thinking and that he was perfectly alright. It would be up to Bakugou and Ashido to provide any more information on what happened. The throb from Dark Shadow had not gone away since Aizawa-sensei released his quirk, nor had the aches in his head, back, and abdomen from Satou's blow.

But he chose not mention it. He wasn't comfortable with the attention as it was – even that which came from his decision to intervene itself. There was no pride to be had in something like this. Neither Ashido nor Bakugou were villains. Perhaps if it was a clever ploy that prevented less-serious consequences he feel more worthy of the commendations he received; but desperate actions made in a potentially life-or-death situation were not something to brag about, or even give more than simple acknowledgment.

Thankfully, his subtle attempts to efface himself paid off when discussion moved to Ashido.

Ashido could only provide the same answer as Tokoyami when asked about the acid (it was apparently the second time she was asked, but Tokoyami's responses had apparently given her a better template with which to explain herself better). Something had triggered the reaction, though she chalked it up to Bakugou's intimidation being overwhelming, and thought it more funny than anything ("Haha, you sure spooked me good there, huh, Bakugou!").

Her cheery disposition didn't falter; it was as if she had avoided a mere slap in the face. The feeling was shared among their classmates. Though out of she courtesy (or perhaps curiosity) she inquired about Tokoyami's condition.

"Oh- Tokoyami!" She waved. "My acid didn't get you too bad, did it?"

"Not at all." Tokoyami kept his demeanor stoic as always. "It was Dark Shadow that took the blow." And Dark Shadow would not get scars; the ability to shapeshift and lack of a solid body allowed it to recover quickly, though the time it would take for that much damage to heal he could not gauge.

"Well then, all's well that ends well!" She spun back to face their classmates she was talking to before and looked at her hands. "But _jeez_ , I didn't even _know_ I could make something _that_ corrosive."

The conversation continued among their peers amicable with an air of levity. Tokoyami supposed outside eyes would find it strange, but they had no reason to feel they had been in any real danger; whatever challenges they faced at the school were always less hazardous than they seemed, and there was no reason to think they wouldn't be quickly rescued if something went wrong. Everyone laughed and joked and contributed to a merry atmosphere. Tokoyami himself didn't start any conversations, instead preferring to enjoy the mood from a distance (though he wasn't anywhere near far-enough to be appreciable).

Bakugou was the only other noticeable exception to it, instead choosing to glower and ignore the idle chatter. Any questions were met with curt, dismissive replies. Any comments on the remnants of Ashido's capture-fluid that still stuck to him were met with the same. The others assumed he was merely sulking about not winning, or even making it to the final four; Tokoyami wondered how many of them were aware that Bakugou had long since ceased brooding over mere losses for having lost in itself.

Satou entered the room approximately five minutes later. He apologized for slamming Tokoyami like he did, and Tokoyami replied once more that it was all right. Apparently Satou was so focused that he didn't realize that there was even a fight going on right next to him. That earned him a few jokes at his expense, but nothing mean-spirited. He quickly joined in on the banter.

It was another twenty minutes before the exercise was over. The chatter slowly subsided into a handful of conversations over of the course of it. Everyone was watching the screen by the end. The final fight was between Kaminari and Kirishima. It was an unfortunate anticlimax: Kaminari had shocked himself silly minutes prior, and his partner (Asui, in this case) had only just been thrown outside the arena; and while Kirishima looked to be exhausted, he still had enough energy to keep fighting. All it took was one throw and Kirishima had achieved victory for his team. A touch disappointing (as Kirishima was on the other team), but victory was not necessary and the only price to pay for a loss at U.A. was one's ego.

Aizawa-sensei and All Might went over the highlights of the day's footage after everyone was gathered together, and offered advice where applicable. An overall criticism was that while those who could use their quirks on multiple others did, over half the class didn't team up to fight an opponent. There would be times where they would have to fight villains one-on-one; but if there was another hero on the scene, they would be expected to work in tandem. Working together was not something only be done when absolutely necessary or when outnumbered.

And when the review was finished, they were let out.

The first order of business for everyone was to get changed out of their costumes and grab their bags from the classroom (along with whatever materials they required); but where they went after was entirely their choice now that they were done for the day. Everyone had their own routine they had already gotten used to. Most of them would immediately head back to the dorms (if they didn't have any scuffs or bruises they wanted taken care of – they would go to Recovery Girl's office otherwise).

Tokoyami himself planned on going to the school roof; the image of a lovely view coupled with peaceful silence was an enjoyable way to end the school day, and was enough to bring a small smile to his beak. But it seemed he would have to make a small detour to visit Recovery Girl himself first. How unfortunate.

But as he walked together with the others, he could feel a pair of eyes boring into his back.

* * *

It was not quite evening yet, but classes had long since ended.

The infirmary would be around the corner at the end of the hallway. No more students would be in the building now that everyone had gathered their materials and went to complete their daily rituals. Anyone who went to get treatment for minor bruising would have left as well. No one had been seriously injured, as was the norm; it was surprising how little it happened given their training regiments.

Tokoyami himself would typically leave small scrapes and bruises to heal without aid. Keeping a reminder of past mistakes gave incentive not to let them happen again. But the wounds gained today were troublesome enough to become a potential burden: A large contusion stretched nearly the width of his abdomen. Smaller ones peppered his back. The result was a deep, throbbing discomfort that worsened when he took even shallow breaths. Leaving them alone would impede his ability to do battle; and while he was sure they were not life-threatening, he didn't want to cause anyone undue concern if they saw them (since those injuries, in his opinion, looked far worse that they actually were). He would prefer to build the ark before rain, rather than wait for the flood.

Thankfully the trek would not take long as it stood. All he had to do was make a beeline for the office and he'd be fine. He just had to power through his discomfort. It was difficult-enough to keep his normal posture at a brisk walking pace. He could only imagine how onerous it would be to do more than that.

"Hey. Birdbrain."

...

 _Of_ course.

He had almost reached the corner when a familiar voice got his attention. Its owner didn't sound happy.

Tokoyami turned to face him. His head pulsed.

"Good afternoon, Bakugou."

He looked down – Bakugou's fist was clenched at his side, then looked back up. It was obvious that Bakugou was irate, and obvious that it was due to what happened earlier. Though he assumed he knew the reason for that anger, he didn't know what he wanted. It couldn't hurt to ask.

"...Can I help you?"

He had taken care to change out of his costume only after the others had left. While not terribly common, there were times when one would need to use the facilities after an exercise; no one would wait unless necessary or think it strange. Staying in the restroom and scrolling through his phone while he waited spared the others from the sight. And when he emerged, the locker room was empty.

So it was certainly odd that Bakugou would know he was here. Even more so that Tokoyami didn't notice another presence in this area. The fatigue from his wounds must have been worse than he thought. Damn. His awareness of his surroundings at that moment was apparently next to none at all.

Though thankfully Bakugou did not seem to notice.

"What the _hell_ is your _problem_?!"

Tokoyami blinked.

"...Excuse me?"

Bakugou stormed closer.

" _First_ you try and play shrink with that bullshit back at the training camp." A single pointer finger shook forward.

" _Then_ you fucking watch me like some kind of god damn weirdo when we're not even on the same _team_." The middle finger was added.

" _ **Then**_ you pulled that get-in-between bullshit at training _today_." The ring finger joined its brothers.

"Stay the _fuck_ out of my _**fights**_ , you chicken shit know-it-all _pigeon_!" Well. That was a new one. His gesticulations ended with a clenched fist inches from Tokoyami's face.

Tokoyami folded his arms. Their slight press against his chest stung. He ignored it.

"I assure you, my intervention was not done out of anything but necessity." He did not require or even desire gratitude for his actions, but that did not mean he appreciated being yelled at for them.

Bakugou retracted his fist, but it remained clenched.

"Bullshit it wasn't. I _had_ that." Just like he ' _had_ ' almost drowning in mud, surely.

"You and Ashido were about to give one another grievous injuries." That acid was virulent. The gauntlet's blasts could decimate cement. It wasn't abnormal to want to prevent both from hitting human flesh. "And in your unbridled bloodlust you made no effort to divert your course."

"Right, because I was _somehow_ supposed to know she wanted me fucking _dead_. Sure." And there was the defensive sarcasm. _How_ did he know.

"Bakugou, Ashido's acid was a reaction to _you_."

Bakugou snarled.

"Of course _you'd_ think that."

"I was there to witness it, as you know."

"And what, _she_ can't make mistakes now?"

"You were the first to lose control of your actions."

"The hell're you on about?!" Bakugou snarled. "Fuck that. I didn't lose control of ANYTHING!"

Tokoyami wasn't sure how Bakugou could keep himself so furiously in denial like that, but pointing it out directly would only further agitate him. He softened his voice. It wouldn't soothe, but it could perhaps placate enough that they could have a conversation with less hostility. It was certainly preferable to a one-sided shouting match.

"Let me be clear, Bakugou: I don't think any less of you for what happened-"

"Who cares what _you_ think." Not Bakugou, clearly. But he did lower his volume, and that was a start.

"But accepting the help of another would prevent such an incident from occurring in the future."

"Hey, who the fuck says I need _help_?" Ignoring problems don't make them go away, Bakugou. "So what, Raccoon Eyes couldn't handle my explosions. That's not _my_ problem."

"You know how serious this is." He shifted his weight onto his other foot. "Next time there may not be anyone to intervene."

"There's not going to _be_ a next time." Did Bakugou realize he just confirmed Tokoyami was right?

"There _will_ be if you keep ignoring it." Tokoyami didn't point it out though.

"Oh, like _you're_ one to talk."

…

What?

He couldn't say he expected such a sudden recrimination. He also couldn't say that it didn't slightly ruffle his feathers. After all, _he_ wasn't the cause of that day's incident.

"I _beg_ your pardon."

Bakugou gestured with tense arms held in front of him.

"You're going fucking on and _on_ about some problem I don't even _have_ like you don't have that shadow bullshit ready to kill everyone the second some asshole turns out the lights."

Tokoyami flinched. That was a low blow.

Dark Shadow was not evil, and its aim was not to kill whatever crossed its path. It was merely an amalgamation of Tokoyami's being wrapped in a veil of sentient darkness, with power amplified by shade and wayward emotions. It only pursued catharsis – nothing more; its rampages would cease once that was achieved.

The caveat was that there was no solution on how to exorcise such energy in a safe and controlled environment. He wasn't even sure of the full extent of his power; even during his previous outburst in that forest he was restraining it (as much as he could, at least). But he had long since made peace with that incident. It was for the best that his quirk got the best of him that time, but he would work to make sure it never happened again.

And showing Bakugou his quirk the night before that incident was not meant to be a power play of any sort, contrary to his subtle implication. Telling Bakugou his _own_ weakness was not meant to mock his apprehension. He meant only to offer a hand to a classmate plagued by hidden agitation; assistance that could perhaps help palliate that oneiric distress and the other symptoms plaguing him.

By revealing his _own_ weakness, there was the possibility Bakugou would have perhaps felt more comfortable talking about his. A covert rapport would let him do that without alerting the rest of their peers. They both had a tacit tenet that weakness was not something to be shown in public, but venting in private could help prevent another outburst at the very least.

But getting Bakugou to open up even the slightest amount looked to be a task of Sisyphean proportions.

"Well, except me, of course." Bakugou broke through Tokoyami's daze as he continued with a sneer. "We both know _I'm_ your worst possible match up."

"My inability to control Dark Shadow during that incident was most regrettable, but I have been working to rectify the problem since." He lost himself in his emotions, and he injured a classmate in the process. But since then he had been working to better control them, and to quash the more irrational. For him, a stolid persona was ideal; both for his quirk _and_ his career as a hero. "Are you going to do the same?"

"I don't _have_ problems, you idiot." His scowl was back as soon as it had left. An arm shot out to his right. " _You're_ the only one who thinks I'm some kind of fucking _headcase_."

He was also the only one to have that kind of conversation with him. Though 'head case' was not the word Tokoyami would use to describe him.

"How have your nightmares been treating you?"

"Oh _fuck off_."

He felt an ounce of frustration that Bakugou put so much energy in pretending his problems didn't exist, rather than focusing on fixing them. It was a turmoil Tokoyami had dealt with himself, if with a few differences. But the symptoms were easy to recognize, and he only wished to help.

"Let me rephrase that: Have you been sleeping well?"

"Don't patronize me, Birdbrain." The irony of that sentence was clearly lost on him.

"Concern from a peer does not necessarily imply weakness-"

"Then fucking _mind_ your own _business_."

"I am not the one who instigated this conversation." Now that he thought about it, it was rather odd that Bakugou seemed to come for no other reason than to yell at him.

"That _doesn't_ mean I need _help_. _Especially_ from _you_." Bakugou's fist slammed into the he window next to him as if to prove a point. Perhaps he was still sore from their previous conversation at the lodge. Thankfully the glass was bulletproof – more than durable-enough to take blows from angry teenagers.

"Fortune may favor the bold, but true valor lies between rashness and cowardice." Bakugou wanted to be the top-ranking hero. It stood to reason that he would go all out when he could. But almost killing someone and then _ignoring_ the incident was _not_ the correct way to go about it.

"So now you're saying I'm a fucking _coward_?" Bakugou brandished his fists. Small explosions erupted from both. "Because I've got two reasons right here why you're _wrong_."

Of course Bakugou would construe his words as mockery.

And of _course_ he would use intimidation to counteract it.

Tokoyami mentally facepalmed. It took some restraint not to do it physically was well.

"I am _not_ trying to insinuate that you're weak. _Nor_ am I trying to belittle you in any manner." He didn't humor Bakugou's accusation. And he would prefer to avoid battle now, if possible. The aches in his body seconded that notion.

"Sure as hell _sounds_ like it."

He grabbed Tokoyami's shirt collar and yanked him a few inches closer. His snarl seemed to intensify with the closing distance.

"So let's _finish_ this."

Tokoyami winced as the fabric tightened around his back, and reflexively grabbed the offending arm with both hands.

"I don't want to fight you, Bakugou."

He wouldn't even if he was top condition. It was not the time, nor the place. _Nor_ was there even a real reason to do it beyond humoring Bakugou being petty and seeking retribution.

"Why? Because you're looking down on me?" He leaned in. A vengeful grin stretched across his face. "Or _maybe_ it's because you're _afraid_ of me."

"Because we're _allies_. We shouldn't _have_ to settle disagreements with violence."

"Well _you_ sure as hell aren't giving me any better ideas."

"We could talk." Tokoyami caught his raising his voice and lowered its volume accordingly, then loosened his hold. "How are you feeling?"

"Like _throwing_ you out this _goddamn window_." The gravity of his tone was almost comical, but shoving Tokoyami into the glass pane next to them was not.

Dulled pain awoke once more and Tokoyami hissed. The continuous press on his back magnified it. A deluge of lurid images flashed in front of him. His loose grip instantly became like a vice. Dark Shadow popped out of his shadow; he held it rigid before it could make moves.

He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. Practiced recognition allowed the mental pictures to pass with only mere traces of verisimilitude. He was fine.

"I would prefer _not_ to experience defenestration first-hand, thank you." He reflexively glanced behind him. He was sure that Bakugou wouldn't go through with his implied threat, but the fact they were on the first floor gave him an odd sense of relief nonetheless.

" **Please don't fight. We're in school!"** Dark Shadow's gaze frantically switched between the two of them, its claws nervously pressed its together.

Right. They were in the middle of a hallway. There were no other students nearby, but it was highly probable that a member of the faculty would pass through at some point. If that person assumed they _were_ fighting, they would be reprimanded. While Tokoyami could accept detention or extra homework, he also foresaw questioning. Circumlocution would only get him so far with his teachers, and informing them of what he knew without Bakugou's permission would be more harmful than ignoring his affliction altogether.

An expression he couldn't quite place flashed across Bakugou's face, then vanished in an instant as it set back into his usual scowl. Bakugou released his grip on Tokoyami's shirt; it seemed he came to the same conclusion. Tokoyami let go as well and slumped, but didn't break contact with the window behind him. His back ached, his muscles were sore, and he'd have laid down to rest right then had he any less control over his faculties.

"There. I _didn't_ just kick your ass. Whoop-dee- _fucking_ -doo." Bakugou folded his arms. "How's _that_ for control?"

Tokoyami dispelled Dark Shadow. He moved to straighten his posture. A twinge of pain pulsed through his head and his back. An unfocused fog clouded his vision for a moment.

It would be wise to reply, but no words came to mind.

Seconds passed. Bakugou's grip on his own upper arms tightened. He leaned forward.

"Now, get a few things through your _fucking_ _**head**_." Oh, now _this_ was going be good.

"I _don't_ have nightmares." Right. Because inadvertently admitting it meant _nothing_.

"There's _nothing_ wrong with me." Right. Because he _totally_ meant to almost kill Ashido.

"And I _don't_ need some _fucking_ _ **featherbrain**_ who can't even take care of him _self_ trying to play _shrink_ and _getting_ in my _**way**_." Right. Because _obviously_ that was Tokoyami's intent. And _obviously_ the only reason anyone would ever want to help Bakugou was _pity_. _**Obviously**_.

" _ **Got it?**_ " _For the love of_ _ **God**_ _, Bakugou._ _ **NO**_ _. WHY COULDN'T HE JUST-_

Ugh.

His head hurt.

His body hurt.

His _shadow_ hurt.

He didn't need this.

One of the benefits to having an abnormal cranial structure was nonappearance of certain nuanced facial cues normal to most humans. Tokoyami was certain he looked no different than usual, which was a small relief that was welcome nonetheless. He almost lost his temper. He reigned it in soon-enough that he was able to avoid any regrettable actions. And he was able to regain his focus without any indication that it had been lost in the first place (though Bakugou was not one to notice those things in the first place).

Bakugou's attitude belied his body language. His words were aggressive, but his stance defensive. He made no attempt to grab Tokoyami again; he instead took a step back, with eyes kept locked. Tokoyami met them with a stern look of his own.

But he held his tongue.

He didn't mention how he felt similar emotions once in the past.

He didn't mention how he wasn't the only one who felt concern.

He didn't mention how worried everyone was after Bakugou got kidnapped.

He didn't mention how he saw the Kamino broadcast live.

He didn't mention how he saw the fight between All Might and that villain.

He didn't mention how he searched ever millimeter of the window on his screen for some- _any_ trace of him or the others.

He didn't mention the sheer terror he felt only seeing All Might.

He didn't mention how through every minute of that incident he wished that Shouji managed to grab Bakugou instead.

He didn't mention how he almost assumed they were trapped under the rubble.

He didn't mention how desperate he was to hear that they weren't among the casualties.

He didn't mention how he prayed to every deity he could think of and then some for them to even return _alive_.

He didn't mention how the news that they all made it back safe seeped through his stoic facade.

He didn't mention how happy everyone else was to hear it as well.

...

Bakugou wasn't aware just how worried everyone was, was he.

He wouldn't acknowledge the effect such incidents could have.

He wouldn't seek help even if that effect reared its ugly head.

He would stay in stubborn denial regardless of what happened.

Nothing Tokoyami could say here would change that.

 _Nothing_.

Tokoyami gritted his teeth. He rubbed his fingers between his eyebrows. He sighed.

"You're incorrigible."

Bakugou huffed.

" _Good_."

For all they talked, no progress had been made. If anything, it had made him more irate (though he backed off at the last second). Bakugou insisted on bottling his emotions up into a Molotov cocktail of repressed feelings, which then burst at the most inopportune times. He was no closer to venting his long-term frustrations – Tokoyami hoped that he didn't accidentally _add_ to them after what happened that day.

But nothing was going to change unless Bakugou put in some effort as well.

Which looked not to be likely, as it stood. Even less so at that moment. Bakugou wouldn't listen. Tokoyami was in no condition to keep up the argument for an indefinite amount of time. He would have to back down. There was nothing more he could do when the other person in question was a foolhardy _brute_ who balked at the mere _mention_ of sympathy.

Bakugou said nothing more either. Rather, he turned and stormed back the way he came. It was odd for him to leave so quickly, but Tokoyami didn't question it.

Instead, he just watched.

* * *

"About time you got here."

Tokoyami had just shut the office door behind him when Recovery Girl addressed him.

He blinked.

"You were expecting me?"

She turned around to face him and hopped out of her chair.

"You didn't come to see me after you were let out, so it was only a matter of time."

"...My apologies." He couldn't think of anything else to say. He had only himself to blame for that.

She shuffled up to him, clipboard in hand.

"Truth-be-told, had you waited much longer, I would've gone out to find you myself – here, take off your shirt."

Tokoyami did as he was told. He unbuttoned his jacket and slid it off, then pulled off his shirt (thankfully he didn't bother to put his tie back on post-exercise). His bruises stung as bunched up fabric ran over them. But the throbbing ended with a slight feeling of relief when there was no longer anything resting on his torso.

Recovery circled him, and scribbled on her clipboard in turn. She tapped the side of her visor a few times, perhaps they had some kind of x-ray functionality. But she did not touch him, which Tokoyami was thankful for. He stood still, so as not to disturb her work.

She was silent until she finished. She took a step back and finished whatever she was writing.

"That Satou boy's punches are no joke. You're lucky you didn't wind up with any broken bones or _internal bleeding_." The last few words had a caustic edge to them, which Tokoyami understood. While they were not taught to be paramedics by any measure, internal bleeding was something that required immediate attention. He could have been in danger had that been the case.

"My apologies, ma'am."

"Don't apologize. I know why you did it." She didn't look at him as she said that. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Alright. I will." Or he would at least try to. It wasn't a pleasant experience, to say the least. And was one he'd rather not have to go through again.

"Good." She stepped closer. "You have a few hairline fractures on top of all those bruises, but it's nothing permanent. You won't need a cast or bandages."

She puckered up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He shuddered. He doubted he would ever get used to that.

But he immediately began to feel better. His bruises began to fade. The pain melted away into endorphins. That nebulous feeling from the damage Dark Shadow took dissipated. His abdomen was still tender, but that would go away soon-enough. He put his shirt back on, and the jacket. He could go. He was fine.

Then fatigue hit him like a freight train.

He stumbled as he took a step forward, but quickly regained his posture. It didn't escape Recovery Girl's notice.

"I won't be leaving for another few hours. You can rest here until then."

He could. It was likely the best idea. He could sleep and regain his energy.

But it didn't feel right. He had work to do. He had to get back to the dorms. He didn't want to trouble Recovery Girl any more than he already had. His wounds were recovered. He was fine.

He didn't want to make anyone worry.

"I am grateful for your offer, but I must decline."

"Alright. Suit yourself." Her blasé attitude was welcome. He was glad she didn't require he stay. "Just don't collapse until you get to your room. Otherwise, someone'll have to drag you all the way back here."

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind. Good day."

He quickly exited the office. He was fine.

* * *

He had to get back to the dorms.

But he also had to get his materials.

He couldn't do his homework without his materials.

He'd have to go up the elevator or the stairs to do that.

He would rather do the former.

His legs practically carried him on their own to the nearest elevator.

Come to think of it, there was still the roof.

Right.

There was still the roof.

It wasn't far.

And he planned on going up there anyway.

He could go and watch at the sunset.

Then he could go back down and back home.

He liked that idea.

He pressed the button for the top floor.

But he was tired.

So tired.

He rested his weight on the wall the second the doors closed. His lids threatened to stay shut with every blink. He had to resort to pressing still-tender areas to keep awake. He wished he could think of a more pleasant solution.

He exited when it reached its destination. The hall was empty. Lights flickered on as they sensed movement. There were no other sounds.

He trudged up the small flight of stairs nearby and left through the rooftop door. No one was there. The door wasn't locked.

Pink clouds painted the evening sky. How pretty.

No one was there. He dragged himself behind the mechanical penthouse. No one was there. No one who looked through the door's window would be able to see him. The sky looked nice, but he couldn't see the sun.

The walls were too high. He couldn't muster the strength to climb them. Normally he would sit atop it and gaze at the setting sun. Perhaps in a few minutes he would. He needed a break.

He sat down, and propped his back against the metal housing. The concrete below was not comfortable in the slightest, but his lids felt heavy. He was tired. Dark Shadow materialized and curled in his lap. He laid a hand to rest on it. His senses fell hazy. He didn't want to move from that spot. He doubted he'd have the energy to even if he did.

He'd have to take a small nap. Just enough so he could make it back to the dorms before supper.

Right.

Supper.

He was hungry.

So hungry.

But he was tired.

He needed sleep.

Just a small nap, though.

Just a little one.

Just... a few. . . minutes . . .

. . .

. .

.

* * *

He was awoken by the ring of his phone.

He must have fallen over at some point. He was lying on the ground, using his arm as a pillow. He was groggy like before, but his consciousness did not threaten to fade once more, at least.

He opened his eyes, then looked up. Twilight stretched across the open sky. It was a blessing that someone called to rouse him. He would have lost control of his quirk had he slept until the dead of night.

Speaking of which, Dark Shadow reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. It swiped open the screen to answer the call. Tokoyami wasn't sure who it could be beyond his parents. They had called last week to check in on him. Perhaps they wished to do so again.

It would be alright to let Dark Shadow talk for a few minutes while he let himself grow more alert. His mother in particular found amusement in talking to it (she often referred to it and Tokoyami together as 'the boys', despite them only being one person). It could easily fill her in on how school was going. He would get up and do some stretches, then continue the conversation as he returned to the dorms.

" **Hi Asui!"**

Wait. What?

He pushed himself into a sitting position. Why would one of his _classmates_ be calling him?

" _...Tokoyami? You sure sound chipper."_

" **Dark Shadow, actually. But close-enough~!"**

"Give me that." Tokoyami yanked the phone out of its grasp. Dark Shadow gave a sad whine, but made no effort to take it back. He anticipated some lip, but perhaps that would not be until the latter stages of dusk.

He put the phone to his ear and answered it himself. He _really_ didn't need an emergency right now.

"This is Tokoyami speaking. Is everything all right?"

" _Yeah, we're fine."_ Asui's voice was unvarnished as usual. Tokoyami could hear a small clamor in the background. It appeared to be no different from the usual ruckus. _"It's dinnertime. Are you gonna come down?"_

Everyone in Class A had their own routine after the day's lessons, but they would all gather together for supper at the appointed time. Some would come earlier to prepare the meal when it was their turn; they had a schedule set up for all the facets of preparation, setup, and cleanup and rotated those in each position accordingly. But when the food was served, it was expected that everyone would be there.

There were exceptions, of course: Ill health could keep one in their room, and so could fatigue. The only rule was to tell another they would not be coming. There were no headcounts taken, but a missing presence was glaringly obvious during such a regular gathering.

"Ah... I'm a tad occupied at the moment. My apologies"

Tokoyami felt a small pang of guilt at not being there, but it could not be helped given his current circumstances. He hoped he did not cause any undue concern.

" _Don't worry about it. Do you want us to bring some up for you?_

"I'm not in my dwelling, so it happens." Or even in the dorm building for that matter. "And I don't think I will be back before the meal is finished."

" _...Where are you then?"_

"One of the rooves of the main building."

" _You're on the_ _ **roof**_ _?"_ Asui's voice carried an unfamiliar hint of incredulity. Tokoyami couldn't blame her.

"Indeed."

"Oh yeah, he goes up there sometimes." Kirishima's voice could be heard in the background. He had once gone up with Tokoyami after asking what he did once their classes ended. He seemed to enjoy the view, but preferred more vigorous after-school activities. The only others to ever join him were Kouda and Shouji: The former would occasionally come to talk wish the birds, and the latter would only come sporadically to meditate.

He vaguely wondered if anyone else would come check it out now that they presumably all knew.

" _Okay, so what're you doing up there?"_

"I... took a small nap earlier, but it appears to have lasted longer than I anticipated."

" _Alright, so nothing happened?"_

"I'm perfectly safe, I assure you."

He pushed himself up. A pulse of blood rushed to his head. He was still tired, but he could walk. He was hungry too, now that he thought about it. Hopefully there would be leftovers when he got back.

" _Are you coming back now, then?"_

"I am." He turned the corner and started towards the door. "But once again, don't feel you have to wait. I doubt I'll be back before you finish."

It took five minutes to reach the main entrance from their dormitory. He had never gathered he materials from the classroom, so it would be at least another ten minutes before he got out of the building itself. He looked at the time. The faster eaters likely finished already. He wouldn't want to delay the dishes being done before he got back.

" _Do you want us to leave something out for you?"_

"There is no need to do so. I'll warm up some of the leftovers, if there are any-"

He grabbed the door handle and attempted to turn it.

It wouldn't.

He tried turning it the other way.

Same result.

He jiggled the handle either direction. Perhaps it was just stuck.

It wasn't.

" _...The door's locked, isn't it."_

Sigh.

"It's locked."

Great. Just what he needed. He facepalmed.

" _Do you need us to come get you?"_

No, he didn't-

" _Woohoo! Rescue mission!"_ Ashido cheered in the background, though Tokoyami was unsure how her quirk could be of any use in his situation. It was a bit preemptive to make that assessment, anyhow.

" _We should not act on out on out own."_ Iida could be heard trying to act as a voice of reason. _"There's a list of emergency contact numbers for a_ _ **reason**_ _. We should call someone and ask them to unlock the doors so he can get down."_

" _Nah man, we got this."_ Sero piped up with an argument of his own. _"We got the quirks_ _ **and**_ _the know-how. It'll be easy!"_

" _I think me and Bakugou-kun could make it up there and back pretty fast,"_ Uraraka added. _"Whaddaya say?"_

" _Birdbrain can go fucking save himself."_ He wondered how it was that he agreed with _Bakugou's_ assessment the most thus far, of all people.

" _He saved your life today. You should return the favor."_ Todoroki's addition was the most unexpected yet.

" _No he fucking **didn't**. I **had** that, you half-n-half bastard."_

" _I think it_ _ **would**_ _be the quickest way, though"_ Midoriya was already considering the logistics of Uraraka's plan. _"Uraraka-san's quirk could get you both up there without the effects of gravity slowing you down. And if it was used on Tokoyami-kun as well, they could both hold onto you without affecting your trajectory. You would be able to move in a straight line back to Heights Alliance without having to cover extra distance by directly descending and then taking the path-"_

" _No one fucking cares what **you** think, **Deku**."_

"I assure you that that will not be necessary." Tokoyami did not require assistance. And he didn't want any fights started on his behalf. "It will be a simple matter to lower myself down the side of the building."

" _You sure? I don't want you hurting yourself if you don't have to."_

"I'm positive, though I thank you for your concern."

" _Tokoyami-chan says he's fine."_ Asui called out to the rest of the group. _"He's gonna try getting down on his own."_

" _Booooo! You're no fun!"_ Being stuck on a _roof_ was not fun, _Ashido_.

" _Tell him if he's not back soon we're gonna come get him anyway."_ Kirishima didn't seem to think Tokoyami could hear everyone else besides Asui.

" _Okay._ " Asui sounded farther away for a moment as she replied to him. " _Kirishima says-"_

"I heard. And I shall."

" _Alright."_ It looked to be the end of the call. He began to move toward the nearest of the side walls. _"And Tokoyami-chan?"_

"Yes?"

" _Be safe, okay?"_

"I will. Thank you, Asui."

He hung up the phone and slid it back into his pocket.

He sent Dark Shadow to latch on top of the wall. It pulled him to the top when it had a firm-enough grasp on it. There was no fence – the concrete rim at the top of each tower functioned well-enough to bar most people from an accidental fall.

But now that he was on top of it, there were no protections beyond his own efforts. He looked down. The fall would certainly kill him if he jumped from there, which made it all the more irritating that he felt the urge to do so. But he had more than enough sense than to follow it.

He instead walked along the wall, and stopped when he reached a portion where a connecting bridge lay directly beneath him.

He anchored Dark Shadow onto the wall. It would be a simple task to belay himself down. He'd land on the bridge, then lower himself to the grounds from there.

Perhaps he could make the trip in one fell swoop, but it would behoove him not to stretch Dark Shadow too thin. The building as a whole was gargantuan – he was not sure if he could even make it halfway down before his quirk would no longer be able to support him.

Apprehension wormed its way through him as he considered the possibility. He had never lowered himself such a distance. If he couldn't the make it, the fall would be a long way down. He knew how to land to minimize injury: If he couldn't lower himself to even the bridge, he would probably be able to land on the bridge without gaining grievous injuries. But it would multiply the now-dull ache of his healed bruises. He didn't want to regain that pain so soon.

But he already refused his classmates' help. He didn't wish to trouble them anymore than he already had. He didn't want them to worry about him hurting himself. At most, they should only have to think of the whole situation as a careless mistake that was easily remedied. Concern for him was the last thing they should have to feel.

He would have to trust in his own abilities. He would need to change his perception of the situation. He didn't know if he could make it, but this would be a good test of his skills. He would likely not have a chance to do something like this again for a long time. He could hay while the sun shined, as the adage went.

He crouched, and turned around. He wanted to stay stable.

He climbed down the concrete rim. He hung off it with his hands.

Dark Shadow wrapped around him. He held onto it like a safety line.

He began to descend.

* * *

Everyone was already discussing the possibility of planning their own practice rescue missions at night when he returned. The dishes had been cleaned and the leftovers put away, but no one had left the common area.

He was greeted as he entered. Sero waved him over to join in on their discussion. Tokoyami obliged. They inquired about his condition. He told them he was fine. There was no sense in mulling over it.

They instead discussed the possibility of weekly campus rescue missions. On the roof. In the groves. In the gyms. In the dorms. There were plenty of places, and plenty of possibilities. Hide and seek, time limits, obstacles, stealth – nothing that would draw too much attention (they didn't want to disturb any of the other classes, after all).

They talked, planned, and joked until it was well-past curfew. They formulated a multitude of practice missions they could do on their own time. Tokoyami ignored the aches in his legs.

It was a good outcome.

* * *

"Hey, Tokoyami-chan."

It was early in the morning. Asui stood at the kitchen counter. She looked to be making her lunch for the day, and didn't turn to face him as she spoke.

No one else was there. Most of their classmates had not awoken: living on campus allowed them to sleep in late, and many would find not doing so a squandered opportunity (especially given how long their impromptu meeting the day before lasted). The ones who were awake had gone out for morning exercises, and would likely not return for some time.

Tokoyami, however, had a set time to wake up at regardless of how little sleep he got. He found that it let him elude the morning weariness that plagued so many of the others. Though he never asked her to confirm, he could only assume that Asui felt the same way in regards to her morning routine.

"Good morning, Asui."

He walked to the fruit basket on the table next to her and grabbed an apple. Ah, Eden's most prized treasure, bountiful among the modern-day masses. That there was fresh produce so readily available was a perk at U.A. unacknowledged by most, but appreciated by Tokoyami himself. And with a variety of brands, no less-

"Can we talk?"

Ah, so this fruit-induced morning reverie was not meant to be. Disappointing, but Asui did not start conversations with weighted words without good reason.

Perhaps it was because yesterday's confrontation lay fresh in his mind (as well as a small bout of fatigue from Recovery Girl's treatment), but he had an inkling as to what it was about.

"I presume this is about our conversation before?" The one they had with Kouda at the lunch table, he meant. What transpired the previous night was not worth going over.

"That's right."

Asui nodded. Tokoyami grabbed a plate out of the cupboard.

"We may, though I would prefer we move to a more private location." He opened a drawer and grabbed a fruit knife. "But I suppose none of our peers are likely to intrude for now."

"Yeah. Everyone's asleep."

Though it would be better to be safe than sorry. He summoned his quirk.

"Keep watch for any of our peers, Dark Shadow."

" **A'ight."** Dark Shadow slithered off to the elevators, though still obviously tethered to Tokoyami. Asui's gaze followed it.

"Is that really necessary?"

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." It was always during personal conversations that fate sent unplanned guests. Best to nip that possibility in the bud.

They worked in silence. Asui scooped rice into her bento. Tokoyami stabbed the knife into his apple, and worked the knife to cut the apple into halves. There was no need to use a cutting board if holding it in his hand would suffice; though he would often forego the task entirely and let Dark Shadow perform it instead; it enjoyed the simplicity of domestic chores when the area it worked in was well-lit.

Asui was the first to speak. She didn't look away from her task.

"Bakugou-chan's hiding something, isn't he."

Tokoyami placed one of the halves on his plate. His assumption was correct. Her perspicacity was not to be underestimated.

"It appears so, unfortunately." He cut the core out of the apple half still in hand in one smooth motion.

"Do you know what it is?"

"I have my theories."

"But you don't wanna make anyone worry."

"That is correct." He saw the consequences of doing so that time Jirou let slip she heard All Might was sick. Though even if he hadn't, it was still Bakugou's own private business.

"So what do you think it is?"

"Before I begin, I must ask: What knowledge have _you_ obtained?"

"That you're worrying about him instead." Asui tapped rice off her spoon.

That... though correct, was not how he would describe it. _There was only calm observation from afar of plaguing issues that required assistance._ Tokoyami merely saw a peer in need and wished to help alleviate his symptoms. Nothing more.

But regardless, Tokoyami's concern was the least of Bakugou's problems.

"What of Bakugou himself?" He cut the core out of the apple's other half. "I'd like to prevent a redundant conversation if possible."

"It's something personal. Also he sometimes gives you dirty looks when you're not paying attention."

"I... see." Tokoyami knew Asui preferred not to beat around the bush, so he could safely assume that meant she knew about as much the rest of their classmates. He respected her veracity – it allowed for a smooth conversation without having to exercise excess caution.

"So what do _you_ know?"

He discarded the cut cores, and began to cut the halves into slices.

"As you said, it's personal."

One by one, the slices fell onto his plate.

"And that's why you won't tell anyone."

"I'd rather not throw a cat among the pigeons." Asui was an affable companion he could trust to keep secrets, but these were not his to reveal.

"That bad, huh." He appreciated her understanding.

"Unfortunately." As he finished slicing, he opened the dishwasher and slid the knife inside. "And recent events have done nothing to mitigate it."

"It's been going on since before summer camp?" A hint of surprise crept into her normally level voice.

"...Yes." As loud as Bakugou was, he wouldn't expect the girls to have heard their conversation (with perhaps the exception of Jirou, who hadn't mentioned it since). Aizawa-sensei or one of the other teachers would have likely intervened at that point.

"What happened?"

"I cannot say for certain."

"Did you ask him directly?"

"I did."

"What happened then?"

"An argument, unfortunately."

"About what's bugging him?"

"Correct."

"Huh. You don't seem like the type to argue."

"I like to think so."

"Have you told any of the teachers?"

"It is not my place to do so." Especially since Tokoyami almost did something much worse when the villains attacked their training camp. "And I would prefer that you not do so either."

Bakugou still performed well-enough that forced counseling would likely do more harm than good. It could not be helped.

"Yeah. He'd probably act like he did when he won the tournament." It was an amusing mental image, but not an event anyone in their class would like to relive. "So how long have you known?"

"I only realized something was the matter the night we arrived at our summer excursion."

"And those monsters we fought in the forest couldn't be it."

"It is not a likely possibility."

"But he wouldn't tell you what was wrong?"

"It was clear that pride came before a fall; but no, he did not."

"To be honest, I'd think you were crazy if I didn't see what happened with him and Ashido-chan yesterday."

"Skepticism is understandable." Though he wondered what she thought of if it before that incident.

"Have you tried talking with him again about it? Well- besides on the bus that one time."

Ah, so she remembered that. Tokoyami wondered how many others did as well.

"..." He wasn't sure if he could count the conversation they had after the previous day's exercise. It was less effective than either prior attempt, and only made clear just how nearly _futile_ it would be to make any progress.

Asui appeared to sense a change in the mood.

"Here." She held up a tamagoyaki.

"Oh um-" The sudden offer caught him off guard. "Thank you. I'd be much obliged."

He gingerly took the small rolled omelet from Asui and examined it. No burns. Even layer thickness. She clearly had experience making them.

He took a bite. It was even more delicious than it looked.

He hadn't eaten anything yet, had he – the apple slices on his plate were untouched. He had gotten too lost in his thoughts. Finally having something in his stomach helped alleviate that. He released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

It must have reached his face. A small smile formed on Asui's.

He finished the morsel and took a deep breath.

"I just wish I knew to help him."

There was no sense in attempting to wheedle Bakugou into talking about his problems. Tokoyami already knew he would only take it as an insult. And the following confrontation would likely turn physical.

He wasn't sure how one would even build a rapport with Bakugou. Perhaps Shouji would have some better answers if he asked (being one of the most calm and level-headed members of Class A). If Bakugou hated Tokoyami, at least there was one other option he could turn to.

"Kirishima might know something."

Well. Yes. He supposed he _could_ ask Kirishima for assistance – he was Bakugou's closest friend in their class, after all. But while it would likely be the best option in an ideal scenario, Tokoyami wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he drove their friendship apart. Kirishima was stubborn when he wanted to be; he would want to fix Bakugou's ailment entirely. It would stand to reason that he wouldn't leave Bakugou alone once he knew.

"I can only assume that Kirishima would have already confronted him if he knew. And I'd prefer not to be the end of their friendship."

"Fair enough." Asui's bento looked complete. She put the top on it and tied the box in a bandanna. "There's Midoriya. They've been friends since they were kids. You could ask him."

That was a good idea.

Bakugou was peculiarly reticent. On one hand, he readily voiced his both his confidence and dissatisfaction at a moments notice. On the other, it seemed like he'd rather have his teeth pulled than express fear or weakness of any sort. He would acknowledge made mistakes, but only enough to say it was an error – anything in regards to emotion would be left unspoken, regardless of how clear it was to a peer. There was no method Tokoyami could think of that would get past that barrier.

But perhaps an old friend would know something.

Midoriya was equally as stubborn as Kirishima when he wanted to be, if not more so. But he also knew Bakugou well-enough that he would not likely confront him about the issue unless someone was in danger. Asking for advice would hopefully not change anything within their relationship.

Everything would continue like normal. That was the best outcome.

"That does seem like the best course of action to take. Thank you, Asui."

"No problem. And call me Tsuyu-chan."

A silence hung in the air between them.

"Until we meet again, Tsuyu... _-chan_." The use of her forename felt almost like he was speaking in an entirely different tongue. It would definitely take some getting used to.

"Yeah. See you in class, Tokoyami-chan."

Their goodbye in itself was a superficial gesture. He simply moved to the couch in front of the TV, not even out of sight of the kitchen area, and turned on the television to show the morning news. There was talk of a festival and how quirks were incorporated into it (as well as the amount of licensing to be done), and he ate his apple slices one by one (not before calling Dark Shadow back and giving it one as well).

Today's apple for the day was a pink lady. Hell yeah.

Asu- _Tsuyu_ joined him minutes later after she cleaned up the counter, a breakfast plate of her own in hand. It was a touch awkward given their parting words, but neither of them thought to mention it. Nor did they attempt to continue the conversation.

There was nothing more to say.

* * *

"Midoriya, a word?"

Tokoyami stood outside Midoriya's room. The latter's schedule was very structured, even on days off. It wasn't hard to find him during the time he was on campus. But being a neighbor living only a two rooms away afforded the chance to converse discretely. And he sincerely doubted that Aoyama or Mineta would want to listen in.

It was not unreasonably late, in his opinion. The sun had long-since gone down, but he could almost guarantee that no one was asleep yet. And Midoriya was not; he looked quite alert when he answered the door.

"Oh hey, Tokoyami." Midoriya glanced past him, likely to check if there was anyone else with him, then nodded. "What's up?"

"Pardon my lack of formalities, but it's about Bakugou." There was no need to dress his request with small-talk. "I'd like to ask a few questions, if that would be alright."

"Well um," Midoriya looked to the side and scratched his cheek, "we haven't exactly been _friends_ since we were little kids; but I'll answer what I can!" He likely discerned that that would be the only reason to ask him anything Bakugou-related. It was hard to imagine Midoriya being friends with someone so invective. But there _were_ some things that only a childhood friend would be cognizant of. "Here. Come in."

Midoriya took a step back and let him in, and closed the door shortly after Tokoyami was inside.

"Thank you. Pardon the intrusion."

"Not at all! I was just doing some reading." Tokoyami moved to the desk chair and Midoriya to his bed. They sat down. Midoriya's hands sat loosely interlocked in his lap, legs crossed.

"So um... what do you wanna know?"

"Well, to begin..." Tokoyami folded his arms. "I noticed during our summer excursion that Bakugou was wearing a pair of gloves to bed. What were they for?" He chose to begin with something innocuous. Delving directly into Midoriya's knowledge of Bakugou's psyche could quickly flip Tokoyami's position as the inquisitor to the inquisited.

"Well... I remember he'd wear them to bed when we were kids. They were there to keep him from burning his sheets after he got his quirk."

It was a sensible explanation for why he had them that night. Though it seemed like a habit one would grow out of as they got older.

"Has he always worn them at night since then?"

Midoriya itched his scalp.

"That's the weird thing: As far as I knew, he hasn't needed them since first grade." Interesting.

Midoriya blinked, then looked like a light bulb lit above his head. He continued.

"Is this about what you two were talking about during summer camp?"

"...I suppose we _did_ cause quite a stir." Tokoyami sighed. Thankfully they didn't get reprimanded by any adults. "What did he do after our conversation?"

"Oh right, you slept out in the other room." Midoriya nodded. "After he came back in, he dragged his futon over by ours." He looked up to the ceiling with a finger to his chin, trying to remember something else. "I think he threw off his gloves too."

"Did he sleep well?"

"I think so. He didn't wake us up again after that."

"That's good to hear. And to answer your question before: Yes, it is. I'd like to help him, if possible."

"Did something happen? Well- before he got kidnapped, of course." Midoriya winced at that last part. Tokoyami couldn't blame him. The scars were still clearly visible. "It didn't look like there was anything _wrong_ with him, even though he was acting kinda weird."

So he knew nothing of the nightmares.

"...Nothing you weren't already aware of, I'm afraid. I was just a mite concerned for his well-being." Midoriya knew that Bakugou left their communal sleeping space. He knew that Bakugou and Tokoyami had an argument. He even likely knew the incident that caused of Bakugou's ailment.

But perhaps it was for the best that he didn't connect those incidents.

"Well..." Midoriya scratched his hair and looked to the side. "I hope everything's okay. What happened with him and Ashido before was a lot, even for him."

"Has he always behaved in this manner?"

"He never blew up like _that_ , but he'd always get mad if someone tried to help him – even when we were kids."

"Is there any method you would recommend to do so?"

"To help...?" A look of confusion flashed across Midoriya's face, like he was surprised that someone would even consider the idea.

"Well... I'm not sure, to be honest. Kacchan's not like the rest of us." Midoriya continued to speak. Tokoyami continued to listen.

"Well uh- don't get me wrong – I don't mean that in a bad way or anything." He waved his hands frantically in front of his chest, then let them fall back to his legs.

"It's just that... well... he's never _needed_ help for something like that. He's always been so good at whatever he does that he's never _had_ to ask anyone for it."

"Did he have any friends with which he could confide in should the need arise?" Tokoyami broke Midoriya's string of sentences with another question. It was clear that though Midoriya knew Bakugou since childhood, Bakugou felt a great amount animosity towards him. If there was anyone that would fit the bill, he obviously wasn't it.

"I... don't think so, to be honest. He played with me and the other kids in the neighborhood, but we were more like lackeys than friends." It was surprising how calm Midoriya sounded saying that. "He never let anyone know if he felt sad or scared, and I don't think that's changed."

"I think part of it was that he was better than everyone at pretty much everything up through middle school. It wasn't until we got to U.A. that he was around people that were at his level." It was curious that Midoriya didn't consider himself in that metric, given his own considerable strength. Perhaps it was a relic of the palpable diffidence he exhibited at the beginning of the school year, a feeling that appeared to have been eroded over the course of the following months.

"And he's never had problems in school. And I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any problems at home – his parents are pretty nice." Tokoyami wondered if Bakugou's parents knew of the nightmares as well. The fact that his mental health hadn't gotten better and he wasn't undergoing any counseling made it highly doubtful.

"So... if there's something wrong now, it might just be that he doesn't know how to deal with it." That was a simple conclusion, and the same that Tokoyami came to.

"But he's stubborn, he's selfish, and he won't let anyone help him." Midoriya sighed and scratched the back of his head. His voice carried no resentment, though his words could be easily interpreted as such. It was rather peculiar. "And if you try and press him it'll just push him away." And it wouldn't be pleasant either – Tokoyami's attempts at coaxing earned him disproportionate hostility.

"To cast pearls before swine," Tokoyami sighed as well. It was unfortunate.

"And if there _i_ _s_ something wrong, and he's not in any _danger_..." Midoriya grimaced and fidgeted with the bottom hem of his t-shirt. "It might _be_ better to wait and let him figure it out himself."

Though Midoriya was the one to make the suggestion, it clearly troubled him. Tokoyami knew well the lengths to which he was willing to go in order to aid another. It spoke volumes that _this_ was the answer he came up with.

"That does seem to be the case," Tokoyami nodded, "though I _do_ wish there was a better option."

There was no 'operation' they could create, and no plan he could think of that would follow through with even a minute amount of success. For anyone else in their class, something of the sort would let them get closer. But Bakugou would only feel cornered. He was stuck on not being weak, and talking to him about any form of hardship he couldn't brush off would only push him further away.

It was... frustrating to say the least.

"Well, that's Kacchan for you." Midoriya tilted his head apologetically. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."

"No, it's quite alright. I appreciate you answering my questions."

"I'll tell you if I remember anything else. Just be careful, alright?" A small chuckle was tacked onto the end of those words. He sounded almost wistful.

"I will. And thank you again once more for your assistance." He got up off his seat. "If you would like a helping hand in the future, I will not hesitate repay my debt."

"Oh no, it's no problem!" Midoriya waved his hands bashfully. "I'd be happy to answer more questions, if you have them."

"Thank you, Midoriya. I will if any more come to mind."

And with that they said their goodbyes. Tokoyami left the room and returned to his own.

He gained some knowledge through that conversation, but less than he had hoped. Even a childhood friend knew not what to do: Bakugou's stubbornness ran deep since his youth, to the point that he would not accept help of any sort. And he hid it well-enough that no one else seemed to have noticed – at most it was assumed to be Bakugou's natural moodiness, and left alone to hopefully be grown out of.

But that wasn't how it worked. Nightmares and all the other symptoms he exhibited would not go away in due time, _especially_ in their planned profession. There would be a myriad of villains trying to kill them, and many times with quirks that could capture like Ashido's. Left unchecked, he could go too far just once and be banished from the world of heroes entirely.

A therapist or even a counselor could help, but it was not Tokoyami's place to air Bakugou's dirty laundry to others. It would require a miracle for Bakugou to even consider the idea himself, but suggesting the idea in his stead would likely set him back more than anything. He would stuff his emotions down further until they risked boiling over.

But it felt _wrong_ to leave Bakugou alone to face his inner turmoil by himself. He was rude, brash, and terribly uncouth; but beyond that rough exterior lay a heart just as heroic he rest of their peers. It would be horrible if he succumbed to his inner demons before he could do anything great. But he had no coping mechanisms beyond denial, battle, and containment. And those were not things he could reasonably keep up while living a normal, healthy life.

Tokoyami sighed.

Was there really nothing he could do?

* * *

Tokoyami supposed it was his own hubris that made him want to help Bakugou.

There was no way to know how much of his conjecture was true and how much of it was only in his own head. What he _did_ know was that there had been an incident about a year prior: A mud man with the ability to take over bodies was apprehended by All Might. He had heard about it on the evening news, but it wasn't until the sports festival that he realized the incident was connected to one of his classmates.

And it wasn't until just recently that Tokoyami had even put the pieces together. He felt a sense of shame for not recognizing Bakugou's symptoms sooner. Bakugou came with a certain baggage distinct from their other classmates; with signs Tokoyami was well-acquainted with:

Nightmares.

Self-isolation.

Volatile emotions.

Hypervigilance.

The list went on.

The gloves were something to be expected. His reactions to certain situations were understandable. Bakugou may have escaped the incident relatively unharmed, but it never left him. Being kidnapped and held captive not even a year later certainly couldn't have helped.

But on top of all that, his stubbornness prevented him from seeking any kind of assistance. And his naturally abrasive demeanor easily mislead others into dismissing certain odd reactions as normal. He was strong. He was a prodigy. He stood at the top of their class. It was often thought that such people could not have such ailments. And he suppressed it in turn.

It was likely why they had that conversation that night during their summer excursion; the remnants of an experience so unpleasant could manifest at the most unwelcome times. It was likely why Bakugou panicked during that training exercise; capture by viscous liquid coupled with the desperation to escape it could have triggered those buried memories. It was even likely the reason he couldn't remain calm when he fell in that mud.

But he still would not ask for help, or even take up an offer for it.

Obstinance aside, it was easy to think of those feelings as invalidated when there were others who had arguably gone through harder times than oneself. There were people who had gone through far worse than Bakugou. Iida, for example, had nearly lost his brother to a villain; and nearly fell to that same villain himself. Aizawa-sensei was nearly slain trying to defend their class, and had to recover for a relatively long time after. _Midoriya_ had multiple close-encounters with villains and gained grievous injuries almost every single time.

Bakugou was almost consumed, was kidnapped, and could have been killed himself in either scenario; but he made it out if those situations none the worse for wear. He held no lasting damage anywhere besides his mind. Falling for the fallacy of relative privation could easily send one into denial. Refusal to acknowledge anything was amiss was a method to retain some semblance of normalcy.

But while Bakugou could palliate his symptoms as much as he wished, it wouldn't remove the problem at hand.

Though even in the event that he _did_ accept Tokoyami's help, Tokoyami wasn't a substitute for a genuine therapist – and he was well-aware that suggesting Bakugou visit one would not make him actually go. Having someone to share the pain with would lessen it, but it would not be a cure. He was not a member of Bakugou's family, nor even his friend for that matter. The most he could do was attempt to gently push Bakugou in the direction his own counselor did all those years ago.

Tokoyami groaned. Thinking in circles like this would not get him anywhere.

He lay on his bed, surrounded only by the ambient light of dimmed lamps. Electricity and air conditioning were all that relieved him from complete silence. He checked the time on his phone. It was past midnight. Being the weekend, there were no classes to be had the following morning. But it would behoove him to rest nonetheless.

And yet he could not find it in himself to turn on the lights. It would be of no use even if he did. Tokoyami's weariness was only physical – he felt no less alert than he did during the day. There was a distinct irony in the fact that he had a predilection for dark places: While their tranquility put him at ease, he couldn't risk falling asleep in them lest Dark Shadow take over.

Speaking of which.

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and summoned the aforementioned quirk. It sprang up from the floor in front of him. Another opinion was welcome, even if from something not-quite human. Bad news would travel fast in the wrong hands. A tenebrous apparition could easily serve as an adequate substitute.

"I don't suppose _you_ have any suggestions."

It bobbed in place. A pair of arms emerged from where one could expect on it, only to fold in front of its chest.

" **I'm _you_ , genius. Think of it yourself."**

He grimaced and folded his arms. Dark Shadow was indeed a part of him, but at times their opinions couldn't be more different. Meek in daylight, restive at night, and with no middle ground whatsoever. He long pondered the origin of either disposition; he had still not come to a reasonable conclusion.

"Regardless, I _would_ like to hear your opinion on the matter."

It stuck its nose in the air.

" **Well, if you ask _me_ , that Bakugou kid won't listen unless you beat him."**

No, Dark Shadow. Violence was not the answer.

"I must disagree. Given his drive, it would only spur him to target us for future battles."

" **And what's wrong with _that_? We _love_ fighting!"** Indeed he did, but there was a time and place for everything and that wasn't it.

" _Fighting_ is not right way to go about it." It would only aggravate him, which would send him down the exact _opposite_ path he was supposed to take to recover.

" **And exactly _how_ did you think _your_ idea was going to work again?"**

"By acknowledging those feelings and working through them, he would be able to move past what ails him."

Raking over the ashes would never be a pleasant experience, but it _could_ be therapeutic to a degree. Rather than replaying those memories in a continuous cycle around one's own mind, describing them could lessen their effects.

" **Yeah, because that worked _so_ well for you."** He winced. That was a low blow.

"I'm able to control you quite well given my level of experience." As well as one in a developing emotional state could control a nihilistic phantom with a thinly veiled lust for destruction.

" **Which is why you just about murdered that guy when you were in the forest. Because you can 'control' me."**

"What happened during our summer training camp was an exception, not the rule."

" **Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that."**

"We hadn't had a rampage for a long time prior to that incident." Many years, in fact. And hopefully it would be many more before the need to do so would arise again.

" **And _what's_ the reason it happened last time?"**

"A most unfortunate lapse in judgment." He squeezed his upper arm at the memory. "One that served as a reminder of the importance of self-control, which I have since honed."

" **Such a** _ **shame**_ **."** It swayed with a singsong tune. **"All those** _ **pesky emotions**_ **with** _ **nowhere**_ **to go. It'd be a lot healthier to let them out!"**

Dark Shadow itself was merely an amalgamation of tumultuous emotions locked away in his inner sanctum. It wanted any excuse it could get to rampage. It held an insatiable desire for chaos – many people did; but few could unwillingly release it in a physical form.

And because of that, Tokoyami had to keep a tight reign on his thoughts and feelings. He did not wish to cause any undue harm to others, and that required _control_.

"My _emotions_ are dealt with _appropriately_ , thank you." He had long-since worked to pursue the art of longanimity. He was person whose troubles would not leave. There was nothing that could be done about it. But that didn't mean he had to trouble others with them. And he wouldn't.

" **Oh please. All you do is bottle them up and pretend they're not even there."**

"Everyone keeps some of their true feelings hidden. I am no exception." He rapped a set of fingers on his arm. "And by doing so, I am able to interact with my peers as a normal classmate, rather than as an abomination or monstrosity."

Which he wasn't. He was a human like the other. He had a quirk like the others. All that separated him from them was the nature of that quirk. That was it.

" **You say as you have all the personality of a cardboard cutout."**

"...And I can reign in your strength because of it."

He _did_ have a personality – he just held the more undesirable aspects of it at bay. By abnegating his emotions, he was able to spare himself the typical heartache of someone his age. He had been made well-aware of what puberty entailed since he was young. Knowing about the fluctuation in emotions let him identify them in advance and control them accordingly.

Because if he didn't, there could be dire consequences. He was lucky that the incident in the forest was not witnessed by any professional heroes. Even one uncontrollable rampage from Dark Shadow could preclude him becoming a hero.

Perhaps when he was an adult he would attempt to become more in touch with his emotions. But as it stood, it would do no good. It would merely give him unneeded stress during the years he _least_ needed it.

" **Oh please. If you _really_ could, you'd be stronger than everyone; that Bakugou kid included."**

"I highly doubt it would make a difference."

" **Fight him with your _full_ strength and see what happens."**

"I merely wish to _aid_ him, not _kill_ him."

" **Oh, you know what you REALLY want."**

A not-quite-solid arm wrapped around Tokoyami's shoulder. He held his posture rigid.

" ** _You_ just want to have someone to project your _own_ anxieties onto."**

He could feel the arm lengthen. It slithered down his own. He didn't move. Any sudden movements could aggravate it.

" _ **You**_ **just want to think you know enough that you can play** _ **therapist**_ **and fix** _ **other**_ **people's problems."**

It covered his hand. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to fall for its taunts.

" ** _You_ just want to project your need for _FRIEEEENDS_ onto some poor sod who has _enough_ on his plate as it is."**

It moved down his leg. He clenched his fist. He wasn't going to lash out at it.

" **Really, how much of this do you think is because you're still feeling _sooooo_ guilty that _he_ got kidnapped and not _you_?"**

It wrapped around his torso. The memory lurched in his stomach. It began to squeeze.

" **So _so_ guilty, and yet you were too much of a coward to go with them. Even when a _cripple_ did."**

He couldn't tell if the tightness in his chest was his own or by the constriction.

" **You couldn't even stop your _self_ from getting snatched up by that magician. What makes you think _you_ can help _anyone_?"**

He couldn't.

He was a mere child. And one without full control of his power.

If he couldn't use it, he was useless. If he used too much, he could _hurt_ an innocent.

He didn't want to imagine what would've happened had Bakugou and Todoroki not put a stop to his rampage.

He didn't want to imagine what would have happened had bitten off anyone's arm besides Shouji's.

He could have permanently put an end to someone's hero career before it even began.

He didn't want that.

But there was always the possibility that it could happen.

He didn't want that.

But...

That didn't mean that he couldn't someday be hero he dreamed of becoming.

It was why he chose to go to U.A..

It was so he could grow his skills.

It was so he could learn to better utilize his power.

It was so he could _help_ people.

He would.

He had to.

He _had_ to.

He _**had**_ to.

There was no point in doing all this otherwise.

"There will be a time when I can use my strength for the benefit of others." The constriction added an uneasy croak to his voice. He heaved a deep breath. He could still breathe.

" ** _You_ can't do _anything_ on your own without _ME_."**

"..."

It was true that Dark Shadow was the source of his power.

" ** _You_ don't have the strength to protect _anyone_ , much less _help_ them."**

Which was why he had to _harness_ that power.

Without his quirk, he could do nothing.

Without _control_ of his quirk, he could destroy _everything_.

There was a balance he had to strike, and internalizing his own quirk's derision was not the way to go about it. He was the master. It was his weapon. _He_ was the one who would make the final decision.

"...But be that as it may, your suggestion is not one I'm going to follow."

A fulsome tendril looped around his neck. Its grip around his torso and arms tightened.

" **You know I'm right."**

"No. You're not."

It was him, and he was it, but that didn't mean it couldn't be wrong. And it _was_ wrong.

" **Which is why you're making _so_ much progress with _your_ solution."**

"A peaceful solution takes time." It did. All good things took time. That's why rash decisions were bad. He couldn't attack him. Fighting wasn't peaceful. Fighting would hurt everyone involved.

" **You can't get through to him with words. Even that Midoriya kid thinks so."**

"There will be a time. I just have to wait for it." Patience was a virtue. He had it and he had to keep it. Breaking it would ruin everything. He didn't want to ruin everything.

" **If you _really_ thought you could, you'd ask someone who was actually his _friend_."**

"I don't want him to feel he has to drive his friends away." Bakugou was belligerent. But that didn't mean he deserved to be alone. But he would be if he pushed his friends away. Tokoyami didn't want him to have to go through that.

" **Hm... I** _ **wonder**_ _ **why**_ **."**

Tokoyami shrank back. His head throbbed. Dark Shadow pulsed. The sound of a conniving grin stretched across its face.

"Like Midoriya said: He's not in any mortal danger."

" **And yet he keeps throwing himself in to _all_ these little _situations_ , doesn't he."**

"He merely wishes to stand at the top of our class."

" **More like he's so simple-minded he can't focus on anything _besides_ being the best."**

"And I don't want to take that away from him."

" **Yeah. Because _he_ can actually _do_ it. Unlike _you_."**

"It has nothing to _do_ with me."

" **He thinks he's _your_ 'worst match up', but _he's_ never had to fight you at full power."**

That didn't _matter_.

" **If you prove just how strong you are, he'll _have_ to listen to you."**

But he didn't _want_ to.

" **You could let yourself _go_."**

He _couldn't_.

" **You could let me run _wild_."**

He _**wouldn't**_.

" **You'll feel _so_ much better."**

They were specious words coated in honey. He knew it. Dark Shadow knew it. But they both knew the urge to follow its advice lurched within him. They knew he welcomed true inner quiet. They knew part of him wished he _could_ do it.

But catharsis was not worth it.

Dark Shadow flowed to his other shoulder in a smooth motion. A tendril gently stroked his cheek. Its breath was hot against his ear.

" **Come on, _Master_."**

He shuddered.

" **Let's show that brat who's _really_ boss."**

No.

It enveloped his other arm.

 _No._

It enveloped his other leg.

 _ **No.**_

It slowly began to envelope his head.

 _ **NO.**_

"That's enough."

He couldn't take any more of Dark Shadow's sophistry.

He couldn't listen to it anymore.

He had to focus.

He had to clear his mind.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot continue this conversation."

He closed his eyes.

He set his thoughts to a blank static.

He set his attention to one portion of Dark Shadow's form.

He sent one of its tendrils to the switch by the door.

The bulb on his ceiling flickered on not even a moment later. It illuminated the entire room.

Dark Shadow seemed to burst off him in an instant. It was repelled by the light. It shrank back, and quickly slithered under the comforter.

Tokoyami took a deep breath. All pressing forces on him were gone. It was a relief.

" **Don't do that!"**

Tokoyami patted the blanket. Dark Shadow grunted underneath it.

"My apologies, but I'm afraid it was necessary."

It was strange. Conversations with Dark Shadow rarely turned so... irrational? They could normally carry out any amount of small talk or tangential conversations (most often concerning games, manga, and the studying Tokoyami _should_ be doing). Even in this low light, it behaved well-enough.

But he supposed there were certain topics that could trigger such a reaction in it. Tokoyami's frustration over the situation as a whole must have coupled with the days fatigue and festered like an open sore in the relative darkness. He would have to be more careful when talking to it; the dorms were one of the _worst_ places an outburst could take place.

Perhaps that was why he was placed next to Aoyama in their dorm arrangements: Bakugou and Todoroki could use the light from their quirks to hold him back, but Aoyama's laser could end him quickly and effectively if need be. Tokoyami toyed with the idea of telling him that. Maybe some day after their classes ended and he had time to pull Aoyama aside. There was also the possibility of them being paired for an afternoon practice simulation, but a strenuous exercise was probably not the best place to discuss a possible contingency plan that involved actually killing someone.

…

It would be best save those thoughts for tomorrow. He needed to sleep.

He slipped under the covers himself. Dark Shadow nestled itself in the crook of his arm. He wrapped that arm around it. The room was quiet. It was calm. He closed his eyes.

He considered attempting to sleep in low light earlier, after that nap on the roof had ended with _out_ a rampage. But the night's event put a hold to that plan. Some time in the future he would do it.

He was not sure when.

But he would not hold a grudge over it (as disappointed as he was), nor for their conversation. Dark Shadow was him, and it would be foolish to hold animosity against something that was his responsibility in the first place. Especially something that was not an intelligent being in its own right.

Nor would he hold a grudge against Bakugou. It wasn't pity he felt; Bakugou's choices were his own and the consequences were his responsibility. Tokoyami could not change that, but he could attempt to understand their underlying reasons; though he disliked being able to do little more than act as a bystander. Especially when it put him in unnecessary danger.

But he supposed an ill temper was preferable to despondence. In their chosen career path, he would be able to channel those feelings somewhere productive. Even if it took a toll on his mental health in the process.

It was frustrating, but Tokoyami would have to be satisfied with watching from afar.

There was nothing else he could do for the time being.

He would do better to focus on himself for the time being.

To fine-tune his control over Dark Shadow.

To better his _own_ self-control.

Yes. That would be the best choice for the moment.

A watched pot would never boil.

* * *

A/N: Considering how he got attacked by that mud monster _and_ goop-warped, I wouldn't be surprised if Kacchan was at least a _little_ nervous around viscous liquids.

Sorry if Kacchan seemed a tad OOC. I wrote a lot of this before the summer training arc happened so his character development after wasn't really reflected.

And I hope I did alright with Tokoyami's voice. I've taken it as a mix between formal and literary (as opposed to Kacchan's abrasiveness and Jirou's logic) for the most part.


End file.
